An Inch of Gold
by KuriQuinn
Summary: Team 7 is sent on a mission to investigate a disturbance outside of the village, where they encounter an unconscious girl in a crater. The mysterious Sarada insists she's a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf trying to rescue her teammates. When the team discovers she possesses a Sharingan, things become even more unbelievable. [Part of the Legacy of Fire Series]
1. Prologue

_**An Inch of Gold**_

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 **Summary** : Team 7 is sent on a mission to investigate a disturbance outside of the village, where they encounter an unconscious girl in a crater. The mysterious Sarada insists she's a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf trying to rescue her teammates, but something about her is suspicious. When the team discovers she possesses a Sharingan, things become even more unbelievable.

 **General Disclaimer:** The stories herein utilise characters, situations and premises that are copyright Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump, Shueisha, Studio Pierrot and Viz Media. No infringement on their respective copyrights pertaining to episodes, novelisations, comics or short stories is intended by KuriQuinn in any way, shape or form. These fan-oriented stories (and any fanart attached to them) are created solely for the author's own amusement and the entertainment of the fans. They are not for profit. Any resemblance to real organisations, institutions, products or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

 **All plot and Originals Characters except for those introduced in the canon of the anime, books, manga, video games and novelisations, are the sole creations of KuriQuinn and reserved for her use unless given express permission by her.**

 **Warning:** _Spoiler_ s for pretty much everything up to _Boruto: The Movie._ Original Villains. Mentions of Original Characters

 **Canon-Compliance:** This story takes place right after the _Boruto_ movie and does its best to keep in canon with the show _Boruto: Naruto Next Generations_ up to Episode 66. / This story takes place right after the Land of Tea Escort Mission ( _Naruto_ 102 to 106).

 **Cover Art:** louquorice (check her out on tumblr or facebook!)

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When she wakes, a bone crunching, joint burning agony radiates up from her right hand and arm through her entire body. Her pores sting and her scalp blisters as if ablaze.

Panic threatens to overtake the physical discomfort.

Why was she unconscious? Where is she? Where are Boruto and Mitsuki and Konohamaru-sensei? The last thing she remembers is—

 _Howling wind, stomach in knots, ground rushing up towards her faster and faster and_ —

Agony.

Sound filters back to her now, rendering the deafening silence she didn't notice earlier into a sudden cacophony of noise, and it helps her realise the second thing.

She's not alone.

Silhouettes loom over her, indistinct shapes and blurred colours: pink and orange and blue and white.

 _Enemies?_

She needs to get back on her feet; she can't let strangers take her. The mission may be a failure, and she may have lost her teammates, but she will not let the enemy take her!

Sarada Uchiha will not disgrace Konoha or her family name.

But when she goes to move, she can't even make her fingers twitch.

One of her eyes has swollen shut and feels sticky as if it's covered in a liquid substance that hasn't dried yet. The other eye is blurry from tears, making the world around her impossible to interpret.

Her glasses are missing.

"… she's… sensei… waking…!"

Her hearing fades in and out of focus, but one thing resonates to the depths of her marrow: _this_ voice she _knows._

That alone fills her with hope and resolve, and she struggles to make out the faces looming above her.

"Mama… Papa…" The uncertainty of unconsciousness has her reverting to the most basic of names, the words that speak of safety. "… Uncle…?"

The distorted figures move closer now, leaning over and blocking the sun she didn't even realise was obscuring her view.

"… she delirious…?"

"… no doubt… a concussion…"

"… not a surprise… fall from that height…"

"Hey, look what I found!"

An exuberant shout fills the air, setting Sarada's teeth on edge.

Noise is evil. Noise is horrible, and she wishes a vicious death upon the moron that's yelling.

"… can't believe they survived…"

Gentle fingers mop the stickiness from her eyes—she winces as they prod a bruise by accident—and then senses something settled on the bridge of her nose.

Glasses.

Though cracked and bent, with one rim digging into her cheekbone, the familiar weight of them brings her slight comfort because her world makes sense again—at least in increments. Shapes coalesce into bodies and faces. Details emerge that she can now see without calling upon her Sharingan.

She blinks once, the movement uncomfortable, and then thrice more in quick succession to make sure what she's seeing is real.

Disbelief barrels into her with the force of an explosive tag.

She knows these faces.

But the last time she saw them arranged in this fashion, they gazed up at her from behind the glass pane of a photograph taken ten years before her birth.

Sarada Uchiha stares up at the youthful figures of her parents and two Hokage of Konoha. She's either unconscious, or she's dead.

Either way, her day has just gotten much more complicated.

つづく

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Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu).

栗


	2. Chapter One

"This is such bull! Why does he keep giving us such lame missions?!"

Sarada does not correct her teammate, knowing it will fall on deaf ears. As usual, the blond, bewhiskered boy is complaining about something. Boruto has two settings: arrogant and obnoxious, and today he has both engaged.

It's enough to disturb the local wildlife. Several birds take flight from nearby bushes, and a few squirrels running across the forest-lined path that stretches out ahead of Team Konohamaru.

"I doubt it was only us," Mitsuki remarks, voice mild and pale face pulled into a thoughtful expression. He often accords rhetorical questions the same consideration as legitimate ones. "And besides, it was Miss Suika who gave us the mission."

"Well, _yeah,_ but you know it came from my dad," Boruto grumbles. "I bet it's just some stupid kids playing pranks…"

"So what if it is?" Konohamaru interrupts, adopting a stern expression. "A mission's a mission, hey? Not everything you do as a ninja needs to be an excuse to use a Rasengan."

"Shows what you know! I bet it's a bunch of jerk teenagers—and if it is, I'll lay a smackdown on them, believe it! Right, Mitsuki?"

The pale boy gives a shrug of bemused agreement while Konohamaru pinches the bridge of his nose.

Sarada sighs.

Even on a good day, it's a challenge to be the only girl on her squad, surrounded by three boys that each have their own idiosyncrasies. Despite being their jōnin instructor, Konohamaru lacks basic common sense and can't keep up a serious demeanour for more than a few minutes. Boruto is loud and arrogant, an annoyance to her by mere existence, and Mitsuki…

 _Well, he's just weird._

"I doubt there will be any kind of smackdown," the golden-eyed boy reflects, thoughtful. "I suspect we'll discover another cat."

"He's got a point," Sarada agrees. "I doubt we'll get anything better than C-rank missions for a while. It's only been a few weeks since the attack on the village, and there's a backlog of mission work."

The other genin quads are just as bogged down with chore-like missions, since all the higher-level teams are engaged in more important work.

"Yeah, yeah, I heard all about it, I was there, remember?" Boruto complains. "But you'd think the old man would at least have something in reserve for us. We're the new Team 7, would it kill him to treat us like it? Shikadai and his squad get all kinds of training and missions from _their_ dads. I don't see why he couldn't tell Miss Suika to save a few flashy missions for us to do."

"You aren't hoping for favouritism from your dad, are you?" Konohamaru asks. "Because you saw for yourself during the Exams, _that_ won't happen."

He frowns at the blue-eyed youth, who has the decency to look ashamed.

Out of everyone who learned of Boruto's cheating during the Chūnin Exams, Konohamaru took it the hardest. In his eyes, he didn't impart the basic lessons of honour and tradition in his student, which he considers a major failure. Even if the boy's father weren't Hokage, he is still the man Konohamaru idolised since childhood; he feels more responsibility toward Boruto than he does for Mitsuki or Sarada.

"He's always been like it, too," the jōnin continues. "When I was a kid, everyone considered me special and spoiled me because I'm the grandson of the Third Hokage. But your father treated me like I was anyone else. And I was better for it because—"

"Yeah, yeah, you became a badass," Boruto dismissed, stretching his arms above his head. "Come on, let's hurry and get to where we're going before you take another trip down memory lane. With dinosaurs this time…"

He pulls ahead of the group, and after a moment Mitsuki follows him.

Konohamaru deflates. "Another supreme teaching moment—wasted."

Sarada shakes her head in resignation.

She can't picture Lord Seventh ever behaving toward his jōnin instructor the way Boruto does with theirs. But then again, Konohamaru has known Boruto longer than he's been their squad leader. And Lord Sixth is much less dramatic than Konohamaru; his calm demeanour is much more suited to a leadership position. She wonders how he might have reacted to Boruto's or even Konohamaru's irreverent natures if they were his students.

It's exhausting just being in the same breathing space as them sometimes, in particular because she's the only one who seems bothered by it. Mitsuki weathers it with ease, but he has a preternatural quantity of patience that Sarada finds enviable and creepy at the same time. Of the three members of Team 7, he has been the calmest about Boruto's cheating debacle.

"I don't consider it unprincipled," he explained when she asked him about it. "In combat circumstances, a ninja must use whatever tools are necessary to carry out his mission. I would have done the same in the arena if that man with the hook hadn't absorbed my chakra."

She can see his point though it troubles her.

 _Because ninja must follow the laws, or else there wouldn't be any peace between us._

Harsh consequences exist for those who break the law, which Boruto learned for himself. His cheating affected all of the Exam results, calling in to question not only his teammates results, but his opponents, too. Even though the Kage canceled the Exams, Sarada suspects they would have ivalidate her team's results despite the alien attack.

 _It will be a_ long _time before we get promoted after this._

At least one good thing has come from the incident: Boruto's attitude has transformed. He is better focussed on their missions and dedicated to doing his best instead of spending the least amount of effort or looking for the easiest shortcut. More than that, his willingness to work with and rely on his teammates has become his default instead of something he tries only when everything else runs out.

She studies him as Konohamaru catches up to him, lecture at the ready, and sighs again.

His recent experience helping to save Konoha may have prompted an epiphany about his ninja way, but Sarada still thinks he's a moron. She can't understand how someone as amazing as the Seventh Hokage ended up with such a loud-mouthed, arrogant son. It's even more unbelievable considering how adorable Himawari is, or Aunt Hinata's persistent serenity.

Being the child of an absent father could be a factor. She supposes if Papa had never left the village but spent his life too busy to spend time with her, she might behave the same as Boruto.

Maybe.

She's not sure. Mama is not as tolerant as Aunt Hinata, and she schooled any tendencies Sarada might have had towards entitlement out of her from a young age. Grandma Mebuki and Grandpa Kizashi wouldn't tolerate such a thing; though they always spoil her when she visits, they were also adamant she grow up respectful of others. And her father…

Well, she can't imagine the person she might have been if Papa had been there during her childhood.

 _And on that note, even when he's home, it's super awkward_ , she thinks. She thinks back to the cringe-worthy nickname he gave her on one of his visits before the Exams. He'd shown her how to use _Katon_ afterward to make up for it, but an underlying strangeness had tinged the whole visit.

Around her father, Sarada always feels like she's waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something to break the fragile amity between them. And by the time that feeling goes away, he always has to leave.

It's frustrating.

That Papa spends his free time training Boruto—even though he asked her permission first—suggests that he is just as unsure around her after so long.

Discussions with Mama never help. They've been butting heads more often of late, over matters Sarada had thought long-since laid to rest. For example, glossing over the truth, or telling stories that are so vague Sarada might interpret them a million different ways. Despite growing up on tales of the legendary Team 7 and the Fourth Great Shinobi War, in recent years Sarada has realised she might not have the important details.

She didn't even notice it much until she went looking for her father. Although Mama talks a lot (and she can talk for days!), her talent for not giving up important information—important information to Sarada, anyhow—rivals Papa's.

It's not as if she's asking for official secrets, either.

She only wants to find out what they were like before having her. When they were normal, not living a long-distance relationship. Or even before that—back when they were kids _her_ age.

Sarada has heard things from Grandma and Grandpa, but their stories ring with the bias of parents. Sarada has been a ninja long enough to understand the people who know one's truest self are one's teammates.

The problem with that is that Lord Seventh exaggerates everything, so his words on the matter aren't the most trustworthy. Uncle Sai didn't meet her parents until later in life. Even when she questions him, he insists she ask her parents "because all the books say communication between parent and child is integral to a healthy relationship". Lord Sixth is a master at distracting her or changing the topic, and all Auntie Ino will talk about is hers and Mama's rivalry over Papa.

(Which, _ew_.)

Sarada has tried asking her parents again, but Papa responds with clipped answers (when he responds at all), while Mama rambles about everything except what Sarada wants to learn. It's annoying, and whenever Sarada calls them on it, she triggers her father's brooding and her mother's temper. Then Papa has to calm Mama before she breaks another house and the matter gets buried until the next time Sarada asks questions.

And the cycle continues.

Even though she knows her parents love her—and each other—Sarada has a keen awareness that her family life is atypical. She wishes it was easier to spend time with them, and longs for the blurry, distant memories (perhaps only dreams) she has of happier times together.

"All right, this is the spot marked on the GPS," Konohamaru announces, pulling Sarada out of her thoughts. "Time to get down to business!"

He scans the long stretch of road; it is as innocuous as most roads that lead to Konoha, albeit less well-paved. Based on the preliminary mission information, this place is where the most frequent so-called hauntings have occurred.

"I guess it's too much to hope that the ghost will just show up, huh?" Boruto says.

"The last time there was a ghost involved in anything around here, its appearances weren't random," Mitsuki remarks. The comment makes no sense to Sarada, but it earns a warning glare from Boruto and a dark look from Konohamaru. Mitsuki doesn't appear to notice either, instead continuing in blithe obliviousness, "We should wait until nightfall. If it is a true ghost, isn't that when they appear, according to tradition?"

Konohamaru shakes his head. "No. The mission specs show the sightings occur at all hours of the day."

"Too bad we don't have a Byakugan on our squad. We could watch this whole area with no problem," Sarada muses.

This time _she_ 's the one on the receiving end of Boruto's glare. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

She supposes he's still touchy that he hasn't developed one. "I only meant this mission seems more geared toward someone who can see through stuff."

"Sarada has a point, Boruto," Mitsuki points out. "Are you sure it's not possible to—?"

Boruto laughs with exaggerated loudness, shoving him with his elbow. "You guys are _way_ over-thinking this! It will end up being a cat, believe it!"

Sarada narrows her eyes in suspicion, but before she can ask, their instructor claps his hands together once to signal for silence.

"All right guys! Everyone has their communication devices charged? We need to split up—Mitsuki and Boruto go left; Sarada, you and I go right."

"Heh-heh, sounds like Big Bro Konohamaru thinks you need protecting," Boruto mocks.

" _Call me Konohamaru-sensei!"_

"Don't be an idiot," Sarada sniffs. "This is a survey which means we need top observational skills. I've got the Sharingan and Mitsuki has better eyes than you."

"Hah! Shows what you know!"

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?!"

"I'm not telling…" Boruto sticks his tongue out at her.

Konohamaru scratches his temple, thoughtful. "Hm. Sarada has a good idea. And it would cut down me having to listen to your bickering."

Sarada's right eye twitches.

 _Try listening to it if I knock you across the road,_ shannaro _!_

But even as she cracks her knuckles, it occurs to her that walloping her teacher _might_ be an ill-conceived idea. Instead she clenches her teeth and whirls around, heading in the suggested direction. The sound of Boruto's sniggering follows her. After imparting his final instructions to the others, Konohamaru catches up, and by that time her temper has cooled.

They divide themselves further, each walking on opposite sides of the thoroughfare and darting every so often into the surrounding forest. Sarada examines her side of the road, trying to find any indications of teenagers or cats, but finds nothing.

There's a sensation, though, that makes the hair on the back of her neck stand on edge. Wherever they walk, the sensation follows, and she thinks there may be chakra surrounding them except it's too indistinct—as if it's coming from far away.

She relays her findings to the squad via their com-links.

"That would explain it," Mitsuki's voice crackles across the channel. "I may not see what you're seeing, but there's something here. The air tastes odd—"

"Has anyone ever told you how gross it is you do that?" Boruto's voice sounds muffled, as if he's holding his hand over the microphone.

"—and that strange energy signature lasts up to three-quarters of a kilometre from where we started to the end of the road. Then it disappears."

"Same here," Sarada says. She and Konohamaru have reached the end of the road where the map marks the furthest known ghost sighting. The hair-raising sensation comes to an abrupt stop, only to reassert itself once they turn and head back.

"If that chakra signature is the same thing Sarada senses, we could be in some kind of giant… bubble," Konohamaru muses.

"That means the Byakugan you wanted would be useless anyway," Boruto points out. "Grandpa Hiashi says sometimes barriers skew the perception, even if they're not solid."

"Well this one's not solid, whatever it is. Nothing's out-of-place. _So far_ ," Konohamaru says. "We'll check the surrounding forest."

"That'll take a while," Sarada complains. "We don't have enough people for an effective grid search–"

She stops talking as the world flickers. It's only a moment—a glimmer in her peripheral vision—but something.

"What is it?" Konohamaru asks.

"I don't know. Give me a second."

Sarada closes her eyes, concentrates, and wills her Sharingan to the surface. She has avoided using it to its full extent until now since that always drains her energy. After the misadventure where she awakened the ability, she slept for a full day afterward. She remembers being livid because she missed a whole day of Papa being home before he departed again on his mission.

"It's like any other part of the body and needs training before you can use it to its full potential," he explained after she woke. Then he taught her exercises, such as calling up the ability to the point before manifestation when she needs to sharpen her eyesight. "With practice, you will have the strength to keep it active over longer intervals."

She is nowhere near that level yet; that's why she needs the full Sharingan now.

Her eyes open, and a much sharper, more detailed view of her surroundings snaps into focus. She frowns in concentration. For a few seconds she sees nothing different, but the longer she stares, the more she notices a gritty texture to the surrounding air. It reminds her of the grainy, rice-like static of a malfunctioning television screen.

"There's something here. No question of that," she says, rotating on the spot in a slow circle, trying to see how far the disturbance goes. "I can't think of how to describe it, but…"

She trails off as she finds herself once more facing Konohamaru.

He isn't alone.

Behind him—not a metre away—a family of deer are grazing. They are unbothered by Sarada and Konohamaru, which she notes is not typical deer behaviour.

"What do you see?" her sensei asks, noting her surprised silence.

Sarada doesn't answer right away and instead pushes her glasses up on her forehead. She covers her right eye and after a moment of concentration, the vision on that side of her face returns to normal.

Manifesting the Sharingan in only one eye is another technique her father showed her on his most recent visit home. It's difficult to do, but it helps strengthen the ocular muscles.

As she moves her hand away, it gives her a chance to take in the scene from two points of view. From one perspective, Konohamaru stares at her in confusion, in the other a baby deer flits forward without concern.

"This will sound strange, but it's sort of like I'm looking at two different scenes," Sarada says at last, frowning at the muddled double-vision. "This one… and another one."

"Tell me about them," Konohamaru orders, tension lacing his voice. Given the last time there was an incident involving an alternate dimension, Sarada understands his concern.

As she describes what she sees, other details become noticeable. The ill-paved road they walk on is little more than a dirt track running through the forest when viewed with her Sharingan. The trees lining that road appear smaller and less full-bodied than the ones behind Sarada. Most of the grass and bushes are soaking wet as though recovering from a recent rain shower. That's odd, considering the Fire Country has been experiencing a minor drought this summer, and it hasn't rained in a month.

"But there's nothing else notice, right?" Konohamaru asks. "There's no… dimensional portal or doorway? Anything like that?"

"What does that even look like?"

"Trust me, you would have no trouble recognising it."

"Okay," she trails off, frowning in thought. "Should I check?"

"We'll do a sweep while returning to our starting point—don't keep the Sharingan activated too long or you'll drain yourself. If there are any threats, you need to be at your best—did you guys get that?" her instructor barks into his com-link. "Head back to the rendezvous point. There's no use straining for what you can't see."

"Got it," the boys chorus across the crackling channel.

Konohamaru and Sarada start back too, moving through the exact space where the deer are still grazing. While Sarada can't help skirting them, not being able to perceive them means Konohamaru walks through them as if they are ghosts.

An idea occurs to her.

"This is why people have been reporting hauntings," she realises out loud. "They get glimmers of—whatever is going on—and think it's ghosts. I mean, what else would it be if you see a solid person or an animal one second and then it's gone?"

"And they can't see it for an extended period, like you can because of your kekkei genkai," Konohamaru agrees.

"Why's that?"

"It may have to do with one of the evolved abilities of the Sharingan," Konohamaru muses. "Dimension-crossing, space-time ninjutsu—something like that."

"So, I can't travel through this—dimension—but I can see it?"

"Looks like. No one's had a means of testing that before. Whatever's going on, I don't like it."

Dizzy, Sarada deactivates the Sharingan until the scene reverts to her and Konohamaru walking alone.

"Are we going back to Konoha?" she asks.

"Might be a good idea. If there's something going on with different dimensions, we need your father in on it, since he's still home right now. N-not that I want to bother him unless it's necessary…" In a smaller voice he mutters, "He grew up to be even scarier than he used to be…"

"What?"

"Nothing! Come on, let's go!"

ナルト

"I've had a letter from Nekobaa," Tsunade informs them, shuffling through her papers. She peers over her desk at the members of Kakashi's squad. "She says the task she commissioned you for was a success."

"Damn right it was a success!" the squad member closest to her boasts, grinning and rubbing at his nose. "You sent _me_ on it, didn't you?"

"Don't pretend you had anything to do with it, Naruto," his pink-haired teammate scolds. "Sasuke is the one that did the hard work. You got us caught before we even started!"

The dark-haired boy snorts, either in agreement or derision, and crosses his arms.

"Aw, come on, Sakura! If it weren't for me getting caught, you two wouldn't have gotten into the city! And if I hadn't shown up that giant mutant _furball_ would've crushed–"

"That's enough, Naruto," the final member of the squad interrupts. He leans against the door of the office while the kids make their report, listening with keen attention despite the orange book in hand. "For someone who's begging for another mission, you're not making a good case for yourself."

"Thank you, Kakashi," Tsunade says. "But even if the kid's running his mouth, I don't have a choice." Naruto's expression brightens. "We're short-staffed this week."

"That okay, Lady Tsunade, we're so ready!" Sakura declares, hands clasped. Ever since the Fifth Hokage healed the damage to Sasuke and Kakashi's minds, she's held a deep reverence and gratitude toward the woman.

"The forest rangers in the southern woods need help. The tree nurseries are being damaged by a pack of wild boars," Tsunade says, reading off one paper while taking another from Shizune. "And there's an appeal from the Academy for a genin squad to oversee an emergency drill for the newest students." Her assistant hands her another paper. "This one is to track a lost cat–"

"No!" Naruto interrupts. "No way! Nope! We're _done_ with cats! The last job was the mother of all cat missions and we're _so_ not doing another one!" His voice takes on a plaintive whine. "Come on, Granny, you've got to give us something better!"

"I have to do nothing of the sort, brat, and if you don't watch your tone, I'll assign you cat missions for the rest of your miserable life!"

"You can't do that! That's an abuse of power!"

"I'm the Hokage, I can do whatever I want!"

"That's not a great argument, my la—" Shizune begins, but Naruto drowns out her quiet interjection.

"Yeah, well, you won't be Hokage long! And when I take over, I'll send _you_ on stupid missions! I bet you'll love returning the same damn cat over and over again!"

"Naruto, stop talking back to the Hokage!"

 _WHACK!_

"Ow! Sakura!"

Sasuke sighs. As usual, he's surrounded by incompetence.

 _Although the useless idiot has a point._

While he isn't as vocal as his teammate, he agrees with Naruto's assessment. What is the point of sending them on lame chore missions when the Hokage and most of the village has seen what they can do? It's an insult to his skills.

 _Even Sakura's above this by now_ , he admits, watching as the only girl on the squad pummels Naruto with exaggerated anger.

"Are you two done?" Tsunade growls. The pig sitting on her desk _oinks_ in disapproval.

Sakura and Naruto separate right away, the former blushing in embarrassment, the latter trying to shake the stars from his eyes.

"There's a final choice for you if you're ready to leave right away," the Hokage continues. "But it's a strange one." The genin perk up in silent expectation. "We've received a few rumours coming from Konoha's outskirts. There isn't enough information and the village can't spare any higher-level squads to investigate."

"We'll take it!" the whiskered boy crows.

Kakashi sighs. "Naruto, you don't get to accept which missions we do. That's my job."

"You haven't even heard what we're supposed to do yet," Sakura adds, unable to disguise the petulant note in her voice.

"Who cares? If we don't know what we're getting into, that means it might end up being interesting!"

"Or it could be nothing."

"There's no question it's something," Tsunade steps in, annoyed scowl growing more pronounced. "Travellers to the village speak of an odd… bubble, I guess we might call it. It's half a day's journey from here."

"Genjutsu?" Kakashi wants to know.

"It doesn't appear to be. Most witnesses describe it as transparent and made up of strange chakra."

"Strange how?"

"So far no one can explain it. It doesn't appear harmful to the people seeing it or the surrounding wildlife, but we need more information before we can investigate inside. I received news this morning that the squad of surveyors assigned to the preliminary search can't sense danger. That doesn't mean very much as they said the chakra is obscuring their visual acuity."

"I assume you sent a Hyūga?"

"Three. Tokuma, Neji, and Hinata. They report the same thing. If we can't get a clearer picture of what's inside, we need to know more about the bubble itself before we go in. It's a safe bet that our two Sharingan users should inspect it too."

Sasuke doesn't look up at this, but his mouth tilts somewhat upward. He is eager for another chance to prove his skills, given the tame nature of their recent missions. If they need his Sharingan, it means he will get to practice more.

Kakashi is the only one who notices the change, and his mouth firms beneath his mask.

Beyond their teacher-student relationship, there has always been a unique bond and camaraderie between Kakashi and remaining Uchiha prodigy. Sasuke considers him to be a mentor, at least in certain areas. Meanwhile, Kakashi tries to act as a role model, the way Minato was for him. He sees much of himself in Sasuke, and hence why it worries him to see the boy trying to pull away from him and the rest of his squad.

While it's a foregone eventuality that teenagers set up boundaries as they grow up, most aren't the sole survivors of an entire family massacre. Sasuke puts up emotional walls with the same ease as breathing, and Kakashi is reluctant to let that go without question.

He knows in Sasuke's mind, he isn't getting any stronger—though Kakashi would argue different. The boy is a very different person than he was when first assigned to his genin squad, and again from who he was during the Exams. He has grown to depend on and rely on his teammates in a way he has not relied on anyone since he was a child. And while anyone else might take that as a sign of maturity and development, Kakashi knows Sasuke sees it as a weakness.

 _The problem with the Uchiha is that they measure strength by ability, not emotional growth._

And considering Naruto is gaining strength by obvious leaps and bounds, Sasuke imagines he's failing. Hence the constant sense of unease, which causes Kakashi his own frustration.

Of late, he's been scratching his head about how he can best help his students, and so far has come up with nothing. Everyone feels as if they've reached a plateau and, without another exam for several months, missions are the only way to counteract that. Even Sakura has seemed like she's just going through the motions of late.

Kakashi doesn't always know what to do with the female member of his squad. Having been a boy once, he knows how they think and react to things; it is more problematic trying to relate to this girl. He's been working off what he remembers of Rin, which works well enough most of the time, but other times…

Well, Sakura can be a lot scarier than Rin, who only ever lost her composure if he and Obito did something stupid or reckless. Rin was more like him, in that she excelled at reacting to obstacles in her immediate path and dealing with challenges as they came at her. She could compartmentalise her feelings and not think about them until a later moment. It's how she got through the loss of Obito.

Sakura may have analytic intelligence that would rival Shikamaru Nara's, but her emotions still creep into every facet of her decision-making. A part of him thinks if she ever learns to turn off those emotions, she will be terrifying. It's why he has hesitated to train her in such methods—there is a fine line between helping her and screwing her up.

So far, he's adopted a policy of leaving her to her own devices during training, but he won't be able to do that forever.

 _And then there's Naruto, who was_ born _impatient…_

If Tsunade can't find a decent mission to occupy his students, Kakashi might have to arrange an emergency drill or something just to ease the tension.

"Your mission would be to map the bubble in its entirety," Tsunade continues. "Study everything of importance and come up with a final assessment of the danger. Return with the report as soon as possible. Once we compare it to the first group's findings, we can send people into the… phenomenon."

"Aw, that sounds as lame as chores," Naruto complains. "Just go stare at a bubble? Nothing else?"

"If you don't want the mission, there's still the cat retrieval–"

"C'mon, guys, let's get going! And we can get Ichiraku ramen before we head out!"

He's out of the office so fast the floor has skid marks.

Kakashi exhales in acceptance. "I guess we're taking on this one."

Sasuke walks from the room in his usual slouch, hands in his pockets. Kakashi takes the mission scroll from Shizune and follows.

Sakura pauses by the door once her teammates leave, lingering in uncertainty for a moment. Somehow, when they leave, all the air seems to rush back into the room. She doesn't know if that's because they have such contrasting personalities, or because they're boys.

 _Maybe a little of both?_

Being the only kunoichi on the squad is lonely; Sakura sometimes wishes she had another girl on her squad with whom she could commiserate. She misses Ino at moments like this because they were the same as Naruto and Sasuke: they pushed each other.

Then again, she wouldn't want Ino here right now because they'd be _competing_ over Sasuke.

Sakura makes a face, deciding that if such a change to the squad roster ever happened, it would need to include a girl who _didn't_ like Sasuke. Which would be impossible because every girl she ever met has liked him—except maybe Hinata.

 _I'm pretty sure she has a crush on_ Naruto _of all people._

She can hear the latter out in the hallway, pestering the others to treat him to lunch. Sasuke says something caustic, which angers Naruto, and their sensei interjects with the bored ease of someone who has done so a hundred times.

It isn't surprising, considering he has; Kakashi spends most of his time arbitrating the rivalry between the two boys. It's more attention than he gives Sakura, but she supposes that's normal. Her teammates will become great ninjas one day, despite the rut they both complain about being stuck in right now. It's a sentiment she can empathise with, even if there's nothing to suggest her future will be anywhere near as interesting.

Sakura can't blame Kakashi for not wasting his time helping her. She is the weakest member of their group, with a near permanent need of protection. Although she works hard, she knows she will never become half as great as Sasuke or Naruto.

The idea has been bothering her since the attack on Konoha.

In recent days, she toyed with asking Tsunade to train her. The legendary Sannin is the strongest kunoichi in the world. She might have tips to help a fellow woman improve herself!

 _Only…_

Sakura witnesses as Shizune adopts a wheedling tone and slides another stack across the overburdened desk. Tsunade glowers at the papers as though willing them to burst into flames and cracks her knuckles.

 _Only she's way intimidating!_

"Sakura?"

She jumps and glances up to see Kakashi poke his head back into the office. "Are you coming?"

"Oh! Right! Yeah, sorry!"

She casts one last glance at the Fifth Hokage and hurries after the others.

She'll ask when they get back.

"This will be so boring," Naruto complains as they walk together, arms crossed behind his head and a scowl on his face. "What's the point of just mapping stuff? It'd make much more sense to snoop around ourselves. Then Granny can skip sending another squad later, you know?"

"Unless whatever we're investigating ends up being made of chakra that disintegrates flesh or something," Sakura points out.

Naruto sniggers. "Easy way to find out! Let's push Sasuke through—ow!"

It's not Sakura's hand that whips out and knocks him across the back of the head this time, but Sasuke's elbow.

"If you don't want to follow the mission, you can always stay behind," Kakashi remarks in a mild tone. "Tsunade mentioned needing the Sharingan, so a full squad might not be the best idea. From a technical standpoint, we only need me and Sasuke." He pauses with deliberateness and then adds, "And Sakura. She's observant and can throw off genjutsu better than either of you two."

Naruto splutters, but Sakura beams at this. If Kakashi assigns her and Sasuke a job together, she is _so_ not complaining!

It's no secret she's besotted with the Uchiha boy, but her teammates don't know what she does: that what she feels is real. Sakura only needs to try hard enough, and he'll return her feelings one day. This mission together presents the perfect opportunity!

"Did you hear, Sasuke? It'll be great to spend time with just us!"

Kakashi wants to point out the obvious flaw in that logic, but refrains. It has done no good so far.

"…"

"And if the mission is a bust, you and I can spar together!" she cheers, glomming on to his arm.

"Sakura, get off me–!"

"I've been training hard on my own, you'll see!"

"Then stop annoying me and spend more time on that." He tries to pry himself away. "If you worked more on getting stronger and less on stuff that won't even matter until we're older–"

Sakura gasps in delight. "'Until we're _older_?'"

A steely glint of triumph enters her eyes, and she squeezes him tighter.

 _If he wants to wait until we're older, it means he might feel the same!_ _SHANNARO!_

Sasuke goes pale as he realises he's given her an opening and is quick to backtrack. "No–"

"I can focus better, just watch me! Just promise me you meant what you said, okay, Sasuke?"

"… You're… choking me…"

"Hey! Asshole! Get away from Sakura!" Naruto yells, materialising a clone in between the two to split them apart.

Sasuke jumps away from his teammates right away, his expression sour. "Get your stupid face out of mine before you end up kissing me again!"

Naruto goes beet red and snaps, "I never kissed you! You kissed me, you pervert!"

"'Again'?" Sakura echoes, her eye twitching. She reaches out and grabs the clone by the throat, causing it to burst and disappear.

Kakashi winces, no doubt expecting a brawl between the three. "Perhaps it _is_ best if only Sasuke and me go…"

"You are not leaving me behind again to do extra super-secret training with this jerk!" Naruto orders, swinging around to point a finger at Kakashi. "I finish missions as good as he can—even better! Believe it!"

"Then stop complaining and let's get going," Kakashi tells him. "You're wasting everyone's time. If it turns out to be as easy a mission as expected, we can do other training exercises along the way."

Naruto's anger fades in an instant, and he's nothing but smiles again; even Sasuke looks mollified.

"Besides," Kakashi continues with a would-be-innocent air. "Should the bubble prove to be a credible danger to the village, it may need further examination. But your jōnin leader will make that judgement call, not you."

The kids stare at him in momentary confusion before breaking into knowing smirks.

Their sensei is as opposed to boring missions as they are.

つづく

* * *

 _So I may have meddled a little with the Sharingan's abilities to perceive alternate dimensions, it's true. I get that Sarada does not have a fancy-pants uber-evolved Sharingan like her father, however I always figured the point to the Sharingan was that it perceives things you don't generally notice with a regular eye. At least, that's the explanation for now so I don't get any diehard canon fans telling me I don't know my lore._

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	3. Chapter Two

"I can't sense anything definitive," Mitsuki says once the team assembles at the rendezvous point. "There's a strange chakra cloaking the entire area. It's misdirecting my senses." He makes a face. "It has an unpleasant dizzying effect."

"Good to know," Konohamaru says. "The more information we have before we head back to the city, the better." He rubs his chin in thought. "First, we need a more accurate picture of how large this is. What kind of area it's covering."

"We should have stayed split up then," Boruto points out. "We could have at least followed the… whatever… all the way around until we met up again."

"No, there's too much of a chance something could go wrong. We need to be able see the edge better which means we need all Sarada and Mitsuki's concentration. You and I will act as their support while they search."

It's an elementary tactic, Sarada reflects. One never knows if an enemy might materialise while in the middle of scouting. Even relying on her and Mitsuki's abilities, it's smarter to have someone watching their back, and she says so.

"More like someone to hold you if you pass out," Boruto jokes.

"In which case, I brought ammonia inhalants," Mitsuki announces. He says it as if this is a commonplace thing, and Sarada snorts, half-amused and half-unsure. They have been on the same team for a while now, but Mitsuki retains that unknowable quirkiness she can't figure out. Other than how devoted he is to Boruto, he remains as much a mystery to her as he was when he first arrived in Konoha.

Sarada has a suspicion—a flickering, half-formed notion at the back of her mind—but she is not like Boruto. She does not worry away at every loose thread until it unravels the mystery. People sometimes have matters they don't want to discuss with others, and she understands that better than most.

 _And he's not saying what I_ think _he's not saying, I can understand why he'd want to keep it a secret!_

"All right, we'll do this fast and in formation—Sarada and Mitsuki, you're at the front. Boruto, you follow, and I'll take up the rear. Sarada, don't exhaust your Sharingan, use it only to confirm Mitsuki's findings. We don't know how big this thing is, and I don't want you tiring yourself out before we make the full circuit."

"Got it."

They set off at once, flitting through the trees. Sarada and Mitsuki skirt the edge of the barrier, weaving in and out of the invisible line to make sure they are still tracking it. Konohamaru makes notes at various landmarks, muttering them aloud as he does; he will add them to the GPS later. Boruto mutters under his breath over getting the boring job but keeps an eye out for anything the others don't notice.

As directed, they rely on Mitsuki's sensory capabilities most of the time. Only when the strange chakra interferes with his sense of direction does Sarada take over, activating her Sharingan to survey the area for the tell-tale grainy lustre. Once Mitsuki recovers himself, they switch back.

"It's almost completely round," Boruto says when they take a short break at the halfway point, a kilometre-and-a-half across the valley. The sun has reached its highest point, meaning they need to hasten the survey and head home if they want to reach the city before dark.

"Almost, but not," Konohamaru replies. He considers his notes. "Based on the coordinates we have here and here—" He points out two spots on his rough map, "—the halfway point should be a quarter kilometre away from us. So, either this thing is more elliptical than round, or—"

"—it's growing," Sarada realises.

"Right."

Sarada does a few calculations of her own in her head and looks up in alarm. "That means whatever this is might reach the city in as little as two or three days."

Konohamaru's expression becomes grim. "Come on. We need to move."

After that, their search is more hurried. Although Mitsuki and Sarada continue to focus on mapping the growing phenomenon, they investigate less often and in a much more cursory fashion. Not for the first time, Sarada wishes that Konoha sanctioned mobile phones on away-missions, but the technology isn't there yet.

At the three-quarter point, they hit a snag.

The strange occurrence continues to stretch ahead of them but leads out over the edge of a cliff.

"Should we follow it down?" Mitsuki asks, peeking over the precipice. The drop into the valley below is significant. "Or cut across until it curves back?"

"We already know it's growing," Konohamaru replies. "It'd be a waste of time to walk down only to come back up again. I'm sure if we cut across we'll be outside the… bubble at some point."

"Besides, I think we might want to look at that," Sarada says, pointing away from the cliff.

There's a run-down, half-collapsed hovel nestled into the mountainside several hundred metres away. It's near invisible beneath trees and debris, roof caved in and walls crumbling; any other day Sarada might ignore it as a forestry station or hunting shack.

Except a genjutsu cloaks the whole structure.

"Look at what?" Boruto asks, squinting in the same direction.

Sarada sighs, forms a hand seal, and mutters, " _Kai_!"

The whole expanse shimmers. Now, instead of a broken-down hut, a circular, solid building manifests out of the ground. It's haphazardly covered with leaves and brush, but it's too large to be a natural animal burrow or hunter's trap.

"What is it?" Boruto asks.

"It looks like somewhere I once saw with my dad," Sarada says. "Lord Seventh said it was one of his old associates from before the War."

She hesitates, not sure if she should say anymore, because that trip is still _technically_ classified. She's not sure if Orochimaru is a topic she should discuss even with her teammates. After the mission she read up on him— _her_? _—_ and discovered a significant amount of notoriety attached to the name.

Even with what she suspects about her teammate, she would hesitate to speak of it.

But Konohamaru's eyes narrow, and he murmurs, "Orochimaru."

"There _is_ a very distinct chakra here," Mitsuki says in an easy tone. "That would be a matter of course for a Legendary Sannin."

"A what?" Boruto asks.

"Do you read anything other than comic books?" Sarada lectures. "Orochimaru is one of Konoha's Sannin. So is Lady Fifth. And the man who taught Lord Seventh to use the Rasengan."

"Oh, yeah…" Boruto scratches his chin. "Grandpa Pervy Sage."

A vein pulses in Sarada's temple. " _You can't call a Legendary Sannin that!"_

"Why not? Just because he was a legend doesn't mean he wasn't a pervert. He wrote that whole series that Old Man Kakashi reads."

 _"Call him Lord Sixth!"_

"Orochimaru has not lived here in some time," Mitsuki tells Konohamaru, ignoring the bickering. "The signature is faint. It has been years. And why use a paltry genjutsu like this one? A Sannin would have no need of such a thing."

"Yeah, anyone who trespasses in… his… bases would be dead within minutes," Konohamaru admits.

"Unless it was Uncle Sasuke," Boruto says, at the same time that Sarada says, "Unless it was Lord Seventh."

They exchange frowns; neither of them quite understands the other's hero worship of their respective father.

"I could be wrong," Mitsuki continues with a shrug. "It's hard to tell due to the other chakra permeating the area."

"Yeah, yeah," Boruto declares, pushing past Mitsuki and heading toward the cave. "It's all scary and mysterious, but are we going to investigate or not?"

There is no chance to answer.

The air behind Boruto displaces, and a stranger is standing there.

A kunai glints in the sunlight and then travels forward in an arc almost too fast for Sarada to follow.

The sound of steel punching through muscle and bone echoes in the silence.

Sarada opens her mouth to cry out in shock and horror, but Boruto's body disappears. In his place, Konohamaru materialises, having used _Kawamiri_. The tip of a blade pierces through the front of his shoulder at the same height where Boruto's neck was.

"Sensei!" Sarada cries out as the nameless assailant vanishes, too fast for her to get a look at him. Hers is not the only voice either. Boruto, recovering from being shoved out of danger, stumbles to his feet to help their teacher.

"I'm fine…" Konohamaru grunts, features twisted in pain, hand clutching the bloody wound in his shoulder. "Get on your guard! Defensive… formation…"

He only just gets the words out before his knees give way and he falls forward, body rigid with paralysis. Boruto keeps hold of him while Mitsuki hurries forward.

"Is he okay?" Sarada shouts, her back to her team as she scans the area for any more signs of the mysterious attacker.

 _Of course, he's not okay, stupid, he was just stabbed!_

"The wound's turning green," Mitsuki announces. "Poison, but I can't tell what kind."

"Can you help him?" Boruto asks.

"I suppose that's what you expect me to do," the pale boy sighs and rummages in his pack.

" _Yes_ it's what we expect you to do, you weirdo!" Sarada yells as Boruto materialises behind her. He's never as bothered by Mitsuki's outward lack of empathy as she is.

"Do you see it—him?"

"The ghost?" Sarada supplies. All she remembers is a blur of white. "No, he's—"

The dust nearby lifts, and a kunai comes slicing toward them. Sarada deflects it with her own but the hand holding it disappears, leaving her fighting air. Boruto growls out in surprise and effort, and judging from the sound of metal on metal, he is now fending off an unexpected attack. Before she can turn to help him, the assailant is back, and she has to guard against the blade again.

The ghost—man?—appears to be jumping in and out of being, swiping at them whenever he reappears. Just as they find his pattern, he alters it.

He kicks Sarada's knees out from under her and then throws Boruto a few feet away. Sarada whips around in time to see the stranger make a beeline for Mitsuki's back. At the last second her teammate snatches Konohamaru and gets them both out of the way. Sarada wastes no time throwing a smoke bomb to obscure the area. If they can't see, perhaps their assailant can't see either…

"Is that… is he using _Shunshin_?" Sarada gasps. If he is, it's faster than any such she's ever seen.

"No. That's my grandfather's _Hiraishin_ ," Boruto growls, as they take protective stances over their downed sensei. There's no telling how long it will be until the next wave of attacks.

"How do you know?"

"You got any other explanation?!"

"But…how?" Sarada demands, taking a step backward until she and Boruto are back to back. "I didn't see him using a kunai or any other object to mark his place!"

"Could be they're too small for us to notice?"

"Let's fix that."

The smoke clears, and Sarada activates the Sharingan; her eyes flick back and forth, stretching her peripheral vision to track the enemy. Behind her, she hears the swirl of wind and energy that suggests Boruto is calling up a _Kieru Rasengan_. "On my mark…"

"Right."

Sarada forces herself to relax and focus, to become the embodiment of stillness. Sound is as useful as sight in this case, and she needs whatever help she can get. Minato Namikaze's teleportation jutsu is famous for its unpredictability, and from the stories she's heard, it poses a challenge even to the Sharingan.

So far, the enemy doesn't realise she has it, which should—

Out of the corner of her eye, she notices the blades of grass ripple in the wrong direction.

 _There!_

It's not a physical marker, but a half-second later, their assailant coalesces into view.

"Now!"

Boruto gives a wordless yell of effort and lets loose.

The whirling ball of energy vanishes as it leaves his fingers, reappearing to hit the ghost-man just as he completes his teleportation—too fast for him to disappear again. The force of it sends him crashing into several of the thick trees surrounding them.

For the first time since the unexpected assault occurred, Sarada has time to study their attacker.

He is tall and thin, with dull black eyes and long, limp white-blond hair. It isn't long enough to disguise the haphazard stitched scar trailing from temple to jaw. More disturbing is the strange, mottled black rash that radiates across his pallid skin.

As he stands, recovering from the blow, the mark looks as if it's growing. Sarada imagines an army of driver ants are crossing his entire body, obscuring any tell-tale identifying features.

"What the hell is that?" she demands, revolted.

"That's a released curse seal," Mitsuku informs them.

"A what?" Boruto wants to know.

They don't have time for long explanations, not when Konohamaru might be dying. Sarada shoves a finger at him. "Who are you? Why did you attack us?"

"You can see me," the strange man says in a mild tone, as if he didn't hear her. "Even when I'm then and not now." He takes a step forward, cocking his head to one side to study her. "Ah, I see. Sharingan have visual prowess and the ability to view dimensions normal eyes cannot. I should have thought of that. She must be the Uchiha brat. I heard one survived but…" He trails off, cocks his head to one side and blinks. "Wait. She's not from now, she's from then."

"Hey, you! Stop rambling and answer the question!" Boruto yells.

"I apologise," the man says, toneless. "I didn't want to hurt you. You're the wrong ones. They won't suit my purpose, no. No, no, no, no…" He presses a hand to his head, as if he has a headache. "But they got too near to our work. It's delicate, you understand—so please go. Thank you."

"I have seen individuals before with this level of emotional and psychological damage," Mitsuki notes, moving from their sensei's side. "That and the curse seal make him—"

It is obvious Mitsuki has made the wrong move though because their attacker stops mumbling. His entire frame freezes, and he stares at the boy as if he's looking at a monster.

"Those eyes!" the stranger hisses, fear and revulsion dripping from each word. "Those eyes, those eyes— _those eyes_!" And then he vanishes, reappearing a half-second later behind Mitsuki with a blade raised. "I will pluck them out!"

Sarada and Boruto are too far away to intervene. Lucky for them, Mitsuki is fast.

He twists his torso around, boneless, seizes the hand with the blade, and yanks. The torque of his body as it untwists drags the man around, releasing him into the air as he lets go. The pale man disappears before he can hit the ground and in an instant, is behind Mitsuki again. As the boy tries to retract his arms and reorient himself, the man strikes.

"Watch out!" Boruto yells.

The blade freezes inches over Mitsuki's head.

Several feet away, Sarada crouches with one knee on the floor while both hands and her mouth hold a wire-trap in place. She pulls back, trying to force him away from her teammate. Mitsuki uses the opportunity to get out of range, but the wild-eyed man is stronger than Sarada expected.

He shifts his weight, winds the wires around his arm, and pulls, dragging Sarada closer to him. She stumbles forward, headed straight for his kunai-wielding hand—

And he disappears.

Sarada's face plants into the ground, but she struggles upright just in time to see the man appear in mid-air above Mitsuki. He punches him with his free hand and, as the boy staggers back in surprise, swings out with the blade again.

"No!"

Two of Boruto's shadow clones tackle him, one clutching a leg and the other wrapping around the shoulders.

The man doesn't even pause in his forward momentum. He flips one clone over his shoulder and swipes the knife across the other's neck with such vicious force that its head rolls clean off before its body _poofs_.

The clones might as well have been flies for all the attention the pale man gives them, and he makes yet another run at Mitsuki. Sarada tries to intercept him, but this time, he's ready. In one fluid motion, he spins and punches her hard enough in the solar plexus to send her flying backward. Then, in another blink, he has Mitsuki by the throat.

"I told you," he hisses. "You should never have— _kch!"_

A shuriken embeds itself into the back of his hand, forcing his fingers to release Mitsuki. The man's mottled face twists in anger and disgust as he rips the weapon out of his hand, pivots and lobs it straight back.

Boruto cries out in pain as the shuriken pierces his dominant shoulder.

"You both stay back!" Mitsuki orders as snakes explode from the sleeve of his robe, wrapping themselves around his opponent. "It seems he's only after me. I suggest you take advantage of that."

"We're not just going to—" Boruto protests, but Sarada interrupts him.

"We have to get Konohamaru-sensei out of here and regroup," she hisses. "If we keep just reacting to this, we're all going to get killed!"

As if to punctuate the seriousness of her situation, the pale man vanishes, leaving the snakes curled around a log. This time, he attacks Mitsuki head-on, unleashing a flurry of blows that Mitsuki only just blocks. With gradual effort, he inches their fight away from his teammates, and though Sarada isn't any happier about the situation than Boruto, she knows better than to argue.

They grab their unconscious instructor and pull him to safety.

"What the hell is this guy's deal?" Boruto snarls.

"Other than he's insane?" Sarada retorts, keeping watch over Mitsuki's fight from the corner of her eye. She can't get over the speed this—creature—displays; he doesn't even seem to break a sweat.

With the mysterious stranger's attention focussed on their teammate, Boruto uses a smoke bomb to obscure his and Sarada's movements. They retreat to a bolder nearby, out of their enemy's range of vision.

"He's too fast," the blond boy says as Sarada checks Konohamaru. Their instructor's breathing is shallow and, although Mitsuki has stopped the bleeding, dark green veins riddle the flesh around the puncture.

"As fast as your grandfather?"

"How am I supposed to know? We never met. But if what Dad says is true… if it was Grandpa Minato's, we'd be dead already."

"I guess that's something to be thankful for…"

Sarada mops sweat from Konohamaru's forehead and digs into her pack for her herbs. Her mother might have packed something for her that can slow poison's progress.

"It seems faster because he's not using markers," Boruto tells her. He looks hopeful. "Unless you saw him…?"

"No, I didn't."

"Damn it. That's a problem."

"I think it's got something to do with that weird rash Mitsuki recognised."

"Then we have to work faster," Boruto says, calling up a few clones. He directs them into the dispersing smoke to back up Mitsuki.

Given their opponent's speed and defence, misdirection will be key to defeating him. At least long enough to escape. Even if they didn't have an injured teammate, this guy would be a dangerous opponent.

If Sarada lives through this, she's going make a contract with Lady Katsuyu.

She peeks around the rock, watching as Mitsuki and the shadow clones continue to counter strikes from the enemy. The man makes short work of the clones, but Mitsuki has rallied somewhat. Their abilities are well-matched which doesn't surprise Sarada; Mitsuki is the most advanced in their group in terms of speed and power even if he always avoided showing his true potential.

Still—

"You've gotten slower, _Sannin_." The mottled man's snarl echoes across the glade. He dodges a blow from one of Mitsuki's long limbs. "Did taking a new vessel weaken you?"

"I am not Orochimaru," Mitsuki tells him, steel in his tone.

"Eyes like him, moves like him—his scent— _his scent!_ " the man chants, rolling out a barrage of kicks and punches from three separate locations in quick succession. "You lie!"

"Leave him alone!" a third Boruto clone orders, barrelling forward from behind a tree, throwing several shuriken in quick succession. On his second volley, he forces them to turn in mid-air, heading straight for the man's face. If their opponent were only a little slower, the _Shurikenjutsu_ Sarada's father taught Boruto would catch him with ease. "He's not this Orochimaru guy!"

"It's no use. He's not listening," Sarada mutters, pulling out a syringe of a general antidote and injecting her teacher; she hopes it will help. "Come on, sensei. It's time to wake up!"

"He must be one of Orochimaru's experiments," Mitsuki calls. "A failed one, if that curse seal is anything to go by. Orochimaru hasn't worked with curse seals since the Fourth Great Ninja War."

"Oh, that's great to know. How about figuring out how we stop him?" a Boruto clone growls before it's thrown backward by the pale man and disappears. Behind their hiding space, the real Boruto prepares to summon more, but stalls when a muffled, wet _thump_ interrupts the sound of combat.

Mitsuki grunts in pain, the sound blending with the rip of muscle and bone torn by steel. Sarada peeks out from behind the rock and freezes in horror. Her teammate stands immobile, clutching at the kunai buried in his gut.

"No!" she gasps, while Boruto makes a noise like someone punched him in the throat.

Their assailant looks surprised, too. I's clear he did not expect to hit his mark so soon.

Mitsuki coughs, staring down at the hand shoving the kunai into his abdomen, and then glares. His fingers wrap around the blemished wrist and he bares his teeth. With a snarl, he pulls the blade from him, the force throwing his aggressor a few feet away.

"That won't kill me," he says, eyes narrowed. "Even if you hadn't missed vital organs, I'm immune to most poisons." His eyes glow an eerie blue, and the air around him crackles with an unfamiliar energy. "Now you'll find out the scale of your mistake."

The energy surrounding her teammate almost looks like live snakes. For the first time since she ever set eyes on the boy, Sarada experiences a glimmer of fear.

Before anything can happen, though, he tenses.

And then, as fast as it gathered, the strange energy dissipates. Shock twists his features as he stares down at the hole in his stomach before falling forward.

"Special," the pale man mutters, flexing the hand which Mitsuki grabbed earlier; it bends in a way that suggests a fracture. "Poison for Orochimaru. Just to paralyse, not to kill. Too many questions need answering, too many…" He approaches Mitsuki, cocking his head in something akin to curiosity. "Given smaller body weight and variances in metabolism, death could be a potential outcome. Must make a note of the subject's reactions…"

It's about now that Sarada realises how bad their situation is.

Boruto curses, "Damn it, this is bad."

 _Yeah, let's waste time stating the obvious,_ Sarada thinks, and replies, "We need to get out of here."

"You think cheese-face over there will let us take a time-out? It's only luck he hasn't seen us here yet!"

"First things first. Get Mitsuki away from him," Sarada orders, reaching into her pack for the last of her smoke bombs. It's a gamble as the same trick isn't always going to work (and she's surprised it has so far), but they don't have a choice.

Boruto seems to be of the same mind because he brings up two more clones. "I don't know how long I can keep this up."

He might have improved his ability to use shadow clones since the Chūnin Exam, but does not have his father's stamina, and four is still his limit.

"As long as we have to," Sarada commands. "I want to try something. Wait until the smoke hits, then send the clones. You stay with Konohamaru-sensei."

"But—"

"Just trust me, okay?!"

She lobs the explosives into the air and, the minute the smoke starts, the clones dart for the tree-line. Sarada gives them an extra few seconds and then follows. The sound of combat within the smoke echoes, but she stops just short of the swirling mass. A shadow grows closer to her and, as she grips her kunai, one clone materialises, carrying Mitsuki in its arms.

"Where is he?" she hisses.

"Your three o'clock," the clone replies, disappearing behind the boulder.

Not a second too soon because the smoke has dissipated. The enemy disperses the other clone, turning toward her. There's no time to waste.

"Hey! Ghost-Man!" she yells, calling up her Sharingan and forcing as much of her will into it as she can muster. The man turns to face her, and she feels the _tomoe_ in her eyes spinning. " _Go to sleep already_!"

She throws up a genjutsu. The man stills.

"Nice job!" Boruto calls from behind her.

"Don't thank me yet! I don't know how long I can hold him," she replies, keeping focussed on the enemy. She busies herself with layering several illusions throughout the area—fake versions of herself and her teammates in several locations, all preparing to attack.

It should keep him busy and the genin shielded.

Still, she doesn't dare move lest breaking eye contact breaks the illusion. She's never had to do one so complicated before. It strikes her as stupid to not have asked her father the basics of keeping someone trapped in a genjutsu for a prolonged period!

"If what he says is true, Mitsuki and Konohamaru-sensei are only suffering from paralysis," she says. "But they could still die from their wounds if we don't get them medical treatment fast. And that won't happen with him around."

"So, you need to get far enough away to help them," the Boruto clone says, shifting Mitsuki in his arms. "Then we get back to Konoha and get your mom. And your dad. Hell, get mine, too."

"One of us has to stay and keep this guy busy."

"I've got it."

"Are you crazy? He's much faster than you! You'll get killed!"

"I fought against way worse," the original Boruto snaps. "I can handle it!"

"Might even beat an antidote out of him," the clone adds, cracking his knuckles. "And you're strong enough to carry someone away and still be fast."

"You take Mitsuki because that weirdo wants him for something. I'll deal with him when he breaks the genjutsu," the original tells her.

"No way. I can see him coming better than you can!" Sarada shoots back. "Your clones can confuse him while you run. _I'll_ deal with this. If I can keep the genjutsu going without eye contact, I can make a break for it, too. I'll bring Konohamaru-sensei. He's heavier, and I can lift heavier loads than you."

Boruto makes a noise like he wants to protest, but something on her face must convince him.

"Damn it! Fine," he grunts in reluctance, grabbing a rock from the ground and transforming it into a copy of their unconscious teammate.

The clone takes the decoy while Boruto lifts Mitsuki close.

"But don't freaking die," he warns Sarada. "Uncle Sasuke will obliterate me if you do."

Both of him dart off into the distance.

"Right, because everyone will forgive me if I get the Hokage's son killed," Sarada grouses. She creates shadow clones of her own, transforming them to resemble herself, Boruto, and an unconscious Mitsuki.

The action isn't a moment too soon because the assailant gives an abrupt shake of the head and breaks her illusion.

"Get Konohamaru-sensei out of here," she orders the clones, and dives forward to engage with the enemy. Boruto would call her an idiot for taking the guy on as her original self, but she needs to buy time.

As before, every time she almost lands a blow, he teleports and takes a swipe at her, forcing her to rely on the Sharingan just to keep ahead of him. Even as she parries his blows and blocks more swipes from the poisoned kunai with her taijutsu, she can scarce keep up with him. One too-close blow swipes at her back, and she only moves at the last second. The steel snags her tunic and air hits her skin; she knows he sliced open the fabric right cross the _uchiwa_ symbol on her back.

A few millimetres deeper and with more pressure, he'd have nicked her spine.

She needs to get behind him, but he's so fast!

 _If I had Papa's_ Amenotejikara _ability, I could do it. But that only works with a Rinnegan!_

The only way she'll survive this fight is if she predicts where her opponent will be next. There must be an underlying rhythm to his attack, a subconscious sequence, because as much as humans try to deviate from patterns, they still fall into them. They're hard-wired for it by their DNA. If she can just find it before she gets stabbed…

 _Right, left, up down—change. Left, down, up, left—No pattern there, no—Wait! Look where he steps!_

Just before he attacks, he steps right, disappears, and pushes off to come at her from the left. Whichever foot her opponent uses to push off from the ground shows where he's coming from next. He's not attacking from her outside range either, so there are only a few places he can end his jump. He's aiming for vital spots, too, which narrows down the locations for him to materialise.

 _So, calculating the force of the lift achieved when pushing off from the ground, coupled with the force needed to land a fatal blow…_

She only needs to glance at his stance and balance the probabilities if she leaves herself open for a half-second longer—

Sarada feels the air swell behind her and knows he's taken the bait.

With a yell of effort, she reaches behind her where she knows his hand will be and grasps the arm that grasps toward her. She flips him over her shoulder, careful to keep a firm hold of him so he can't teleport off again.

He flies face-first into the ground which splinters from the force of impact.

The kunai drops from his fingers, and she toes the blade beyond reach before winding around so she's got her knee in his back. His arm remains grasped in a locked position, straight and tight. With enough pressure, she could snap it.

 _To match the hand Mitsuki broke earlier._

"That's right," she snarls, "I'm an Uchiha. And there's a reason you don't mess with us!" She twists his wrist a little, earning a quiet groan. "Now, tell me how to fix whatever you did to my friends! And you can tell me why the hell you want to kill us!"

"I have no intention of killing anyone," he tells her, sounding muffled and confused. "Not yet. There are questions—so many questions, and the boy will know. Only someone with eyes like that…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Never dead enough… So many questions…" He cocks his head, considering her as if in apology. "But you won't be there to hear them."

"Big words for someone whose arm I'm about to break."

"She possesses Sharingan, but she is blind," he mutters with a high-pitched giggle. "You are not the only one who can create shadow clones."

He vanishes in a puff of smoke and Sarada's hands clutch around nothing.

"Wha—?" Sarada whirls, eyes flitting around for any sign of where he will come from next.

 _Damn it, when did he switch?!_

She makes a move toward the discarded kunai, in case he intends to take it back—

Arms wrap around her from behind, and the world disappears in a blur of colour and sound. It reappears a millisecond later as Sarada gets a brief impression of foggy, grey clouds.

"It was nice to meet you," her enemy whispers in her ear.

Then the arms vanish, and there's an unpleasant swooping sensation in her stomach.

And she is falling.

The white mist around her disappears as she plummets, and Sarada grasps at the space around her.

 _He teleported me into mid-air_ , she realises with delayed hysteria, her body flipping in wild, out-of-control movements.

She's above the valley and way too far from any of the rock faces to get a handhold to save herself—with or without chakra. He's nowhere nearby, meaning he teleported away before leaving her to her death.

Which will be soon if she doesn't do something!

Sarada forces her arms and legs to stop flapping, thrusting them outward spread-eagle fashion to slow her descent as best she can. The fall itself will not kill her, though it's making her head spin, but the landing— _Think, think, think!_

It's as the ground rushes up to her faster and faster, to the degree where her Sharingan can pick out individual blades of grass, that she gets an idea. It's something she has never attempted—something she doesn't even know if her mother has tried such a gamble.

Hitting the ground hard enough for it to split apart and throw up air-pockets is not the best move she's ever planned.

But it's all she has right now.

She pulls back her right arm, gathering every ounce of chakra she's been storing until now into her fist. It requires the most precise timing.

Only when she is a few feet away does she punch forward, bellowing out, "SHANNARO!"

There is a blast of sound and dust and rubble.

Her right side explodes into fiery pain.

And then nothing.

つづく

 _I had fun writing Sarada's fight scene, even if it was a bit technical in some places; just a friendly reminder that like Sasuke, she's a prodigy, and like Sakura, she's a genius. I fully expect her to be terrifying when she grows up._

 _I have no idea what exactly Mitsuki's abilities are because they haven't really covered all of it yet, but the fact that he can access Sage Mode (according to the manga) and is the child of Orochimaru (and thus probably has some snake DNA in him), I've decided he has at least some chakra sensing (smelling) capabilities. I took some liberties with Mitsuki. But only because it was logical. Seriously, can you see Orochimaru creating a kid that could be brought down by a simple poison? He's Mr. I'm Obsessed With Immortality. Obviously Mitsuki is gonna have a stronger constitution. Hence the need for a stronger poison…_ _Please do not rip my heart out for tweaking abilities._

 _Also, based on everything I've seen from the anime up to Episode 66, I doubt the original Team 7 have told everything to their kids and so the curse mark just wasn't a topic that came up before._

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	4. Chapter Three

"I don't get it," Naruto says, staring at his froggy wallet with a mournful expression. It is much thinner now than it was half-an-hour ago. "How does this always happen?"

"Maybe if you didn't eat out all the time," Sakura suggests, "or if you stopped accepting that fourth bowl of ramen Kakashi-sensei always orders for you. Then you'd notice him sneak off before it comes time to pay."

"Yeah, well, you two should do that for me! We're a team, remember—you're supposed to have my back!"

"And you're supposed to be a shinobi with better observational skills than a bag of hair," Sasuke mutters.

"What was that, asshole?!"

"You heard me."

"Guys, look!" Sakura interrupts the inevitable shouting-match-turned-fist-fight and points ahead.

Kakashi is waiting for them by the village gate, but he isn't alone. Three figures wearing Konoha forehead protectors converse with him; two of them are familiar faces, the others identifiable only due to the distinctive Hyūga looks.

"It's Hinata and Neji and…" Sakura trails off, frowning in thought. "I think Lady Tsunade said his name's Tokuma. He's a chūnin."

Naruto doesn't care.

"Hey! Hinata!" he calls, waving in jubilation as he hurries toward her.

Even from a distance, it's easy to make out the massive blush that creeps over the Hyūga girl's pale cheeks.

Sakura and Sasuke follow their teammate. Hinata barely notices them as she stammers, "N-N-Naruto. H-H-Hi."

It's the usual behaviour, though, so Sakura doesn't call her on it. Instead, she addresses her in a warm voice. "Lady Tsunade mentioned she sent you with the reconnaissance team. That's amazing! I'm glad you're well enough to go out on missions again."

Based on rumour, it has taken a while for Hinata to heal since her ill-fated exam bout. Which makes it even more surprising they included her on the surveyor team with Neji. They may be cousins, but given how he injured her during their match, the two of them working together seems counterintuitive.

"This mission required any Byakugan still in the village," Hinata's brusque cousin says, tone as abrupt and curt as usual.

"You'd better be treating her well," Naruto orders. "And not just because she's your teammate today."

Neji narrows his eyes and folds his arms in front of him while Hinata stammers, "I-i-it's fine, N-N-Naruto. We've been t-t-training t-together."

If possible, she turns redder.

Sakura and Kakashi exchange knowing glances at this, but Naruto is oblivious. He blinks at Neji in surprise. "Yeah?"

"I have learned not to underestimate the strength of others," the Hyūga prodigy sniffs. "In particular, no one that your ridiculous confidence has inspired. Or foolhardiness. It's too soon to say which." He shoots a glance at Sakura. "Sakura, is it? I never complimented you on your match in the exams. Your ability to throw off a clan technique as strong as the Yamanaka's was surprising."

"Um, thanks," Sakura manages.

 _The guy has a long way to go before he can manage a proper compliment!_

Sasuke, growing irritated with the niceties, pushes past Neji. "We're wasting time. Unless you guys have anything to tell us about the mission, we've got to get going."

He doesn't linger to listen though and pushes forward along the dirt path.

"Geez, what's his problem now?" Naruto grumbles, while Neji frowns at the retreating _uchiwa_ clad back.

"He said he doesn't want to waste time," Sakura defends, hands on her hips.

 _Ugh! Naruto_ never _listens!_

"Have you found anything beyond the reports you sent earlier?" Kakashi asks Tokuma.

"We suspect it's being caused by something in the interior, but we can't be sure what—it's too far out of our range," the remaining Hyūga replies. "Just keep a sharp eye out. Unless you see something we didn't, I doubt we'll have concrete answers until the Hokage sends a field team."

"I'm not sure we'll notice anything you three couldn't," Kakashi admits.

"I imagine Lady Tsunade simply wants all the bases covered. Just stick to the mission parameters and report back as soon as possible."

"'Soon' being the key word here," Neji adds. "The whole area gives me an uneasy feeling."

The two groups exchange final goodbyes and the rest of the team go to catch up with Sasuke.

"She's kinda weird, isn't she?" Naruto remarks after they have travelled a significant distance from the gate. "Hinata, I mean. D'you think it's a Hyūga thing? Or just her? I mean Neji's kind of weird too, but she's… I dunno…"

Sakura sighs. "Wow, you are _so_ dumb, Naruto."

Sasuke hums in agreement.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Observation's not his strong point," Kakashi suggests.

"Like I said: a bag of hair."

"If you don't shut up, I'll break your face!"

" _Tch_."

Naruto's teeth clench together, and his face turns an angry purple, fighting the temptation to shove a Rasengan at his friend. A moment later he relaxes and contents himself with shooting a puzzled look at Sasuke's back.

Kakashi is proud of Naruto exercising a measure of control, but that pride is tempered by his concern for Sasuke. At least when they were both at each other's throats, he knew they were in a healthy mind frame. These days, the Uchiha boy's impatience overshadows that.

"Kakashi-sensei? Shouldn't the Byakugan be able to see through everything?" Sakura asks, interrupting his thoughts.

"In theory, yes," he replies, bringing out the map that Shizune gave him and studying the topography. "But certain objects or fields can obscure the accuracy. There are several techniques in specific created to block it, in fact. They emit a kind of null-shield to keep those who have it from seeing."

"Do you know any of them?"

"No. They're classified as forbidden here. In fact, the Hokage permits them only during times of war. Other villages wanted to keep our Hyūga shinobi from learning information or locating important objects."

"So, if this is something like that…?"

"Considering the scale, it means there could be something very dangerous inside that bubble." Both Naruto and Sasuke's ears perk up at the word 'dangerous' _._ "That's the reason Tokuma advised us to keep to the mission parameters."

" _Dangerous?_ Like what do you mean?" Naruto wants to know. "Think there's an army of enemy ninja hiding in there? Or a secret treasure someone's trying to protect? Or what about zombies? It could be zombies, right, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Have you been staying up late watching bad science fiction movies again?"

"Well… yeah… kinda… But c'mon, could it be?"

Kakashi sighs.

Sasuke grimaces and rubs his hand—the movement far too casual to be unconscious—across the back of his neck. Their teacher, distracted by Naruto's exuberant chatter, doesn't notice, but Sakura does.

"Are you all right?" she asks him, pitching her voice low to keep the others from hearing; whispers carry more than murmurs among practised shinobi.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" she prods. "Because I saw you—"

He throws a fierce, sideways glare at her which warns her from finishing. Either he doesn't want her talking asking because it bothers him, or he's worried drawing attention to his discomfort might make the others think he's weak.

Or both.

Ever since the Forest of Death, Sakura has been keeping an eye out on the unsightly smear on Sasuke's neck. Even though he and Kakashi insist everything is fine, she long ago figured out that her teammates often lie to protect her. While she appreciates this evidence of them considering her feelings, she doesn't appreciate that they think she's stupid. And she trusts nothing which causes Sasuke pain—or turns him into the terrifying avenging dynamo from the Forest of Death.

She hates that damned mark.

"You should tell Kakashi-sensei."

"There's no point." When Sakura raises a challenging eyebrow, he realises she won't just let it go with so vague an explanation. "It stings from time to time. There's no reason for it that Kakashi or I can figure out."

"But—"

"I'm not bringing it up if it means us turning around and going back. Not for something that isn't a problem."

"But if neither of you know what makes it… Sasuke, _that's_ a problem," she protests. When his stubborn expression doesn't change, she clenches her fists and steels herself. "If you don't say something, I will. I'm worried about you."

"No one asked you to be," he snaps.

"But I…"

A disgusted expression crosses his features, and if he were the demonstrative sort, he'd be throwing up his hands.

"Fine. Go ahead. Tell him. But he'll say the same thing," Sasuke sneers. "And then he'll think you're wasting his time with useless stuff, as usual."

He strides on without waiting to see if his barb hits. Sakura's shoulders droop.

Having Sasuke confirm just what she thinks of herself—that she's useless—isn't new, but it still hurts _._ She wishes she could tell him she just doesn't want him hurt even though she knows it will fall on deaf ears.

She senses Naruto come up behind her and shoot a glance at Sasuke's departing back. "He's in another one of his bad moods today, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"Is it just me, or is he getting worse every day? I mean, jeez, if I didn't know better, I'd say _he_ was the girl on the team," Naruto goes on in blithe ignorance. "With all the sulking and the mood swings. I mean, you don't even get like that when it's your time of the month, let alone every five minutes like—"

 _Slap!_

"OW!"

"You stupid clod, how dare you say stuff like that!" Sakura snarls, her cheeks red and her eyes blazing.

She knocks his feet out from under him and then tramples on him until he crawls away to hide behind Kakashi. Then, with a toss of her hair, she stomps off after Sasuke.

Cradling a possible cracked rib, Naruto curses his luck.

He doesn't see how what he says is any more insulting than the way Sasuke treats her. But still, she's back to trailing after the other guy with that stupid hopeful expression on her face. He bets she's getting ready to go complain to him. They're always talking to each other when they figure Naruto can't hear or doesn't notice—or at least, Sakura talks and Sasuke just sits there. But he doesn't get up and leave, which he'd do if _Naruto_ did the talking.

The whole thing bothers him.

Naruto is often the odd man out even though he's become so much stronger than when they first got assigned together. He thought he'd be struggling to catch up with Sakura and Sasuke forever. Now that he feels he's on the same level as them at last, there's another insurmountable obstacle. Naruto's the one who shows he likes her, and Sasuke doesn't even pay attention. Naruto would do whatever Sakura asked, but he's invisible next to the other boy.

It's not fair.

He supposes he shouldn't complain too much. At least Sakura considers him her friend these days, not a freak like she once did.

 _Back when her eyes used to be the same as everyone else's in the village._

"But I want more," he mumbles under his breath, crossing his arms in frustration.

"You should stop trying so hard," Kakashi suggests, materialising beside him out of nowhere. "Under normal circumstances, when you stop trying to force something, matters arrange themselves." He pauses and then adds, "Besides, I'm sure there are other people who might be more receptive to you and are just too shy to say so."

Far from being comforted by this, the blond boy looks disturbed. "Ugh, are you hitting on me right now?"

"What?! No!" Kakashi splutters, eyes going wide in panic and shock. "Why would you…? I'm just trying to give you some advice!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not taking _any_ advice from someone who doesn't even have a girlfriend and spends his free time reading porn," Naruto declares.

"How do you know I don't have a girlfriend? Maybe I'm just a private person, so you wouldn't know even if I did."

"If you ever get a girlfriend, I bet she'd be the most patient person on the planet to put up with you. I mean, you're always late, you never pay for lunch, you've always got that mask on, you sort of smell like dog…"

Naruto goes on enumerating Kakashi's various faults, and the jōnin sighs.

He wishes his students would have more respect for him, but it figures he would get stuck with the genin team that always gives him a hard time. He puts that down to the Third Hokage and his many ulterior motives. Sure, there's the fact Kakashi's Sharingan makes him the only candidate they could assign who _could_ control Naruto and guide Sasuke. But he's also sure it's retribution for being a stuck-up, pain-in-the-ass as a child.

Lord Third always had a twisted sense of humour.

The rest of the journey continues more-or-less peaceably. The kids fall into their usual bickering, back-and-forth conversation, while Kakashi follows at a discreet distance. He's close enough to reach them in case of a sudden attack, but far enough away where he doesn't catch every word they say to each other.

He learned early in their partnership that kids talk about weird shit, and there are now a few things he can never unhear.

By noon, the peace is marred briefly by an impromptu sun-shower.

Naruto complains that his clothes will chafe now as Sakura laughs and points at tiny rainbows forming in the misty light from the tree-tops. Sasuke squints up at the sparse dark clouds, and it's possible the corner of his mouth is lifting. Sakura tries to get Sasuke to dance with her in the rain while Naruto reaches up and musses the taller boy's hair. Sasuke growls and tries to fight him off but Naruto ducks and pulls faces at him, taunting while Sakura shouts at him to stop it.

 _The old man might have been on-to something,_ Kakashi admits as he watches his charges. Against all odds, the kids have grown on him. _If they didn't drive me crazy eighty percent of the time…_

The sun now eases toward the horizon when they reach the area where they were told they could find the first sign of the phenomenon. They pass several _dōsojin_ and enter a wooded area. The roadside markers are helpful to Kakashi as the trees are too thick in this section to see much sky or offer him a way to guide them.

He is digging into his pack to assess the map again when Sasuke speaks.

"Where did the report say this bubble starts?"

"A half-kilometre past the Aoi Shrine," Kakashi replies, unfolding the map.

"Then we've got a problem." Sasuke points ahead of them. "Because that's not a half-kilometre away. It's about a quarter."

It's hard to see right away from this distance, but Sasuke's eyes are better than his and they have all learned to trust them. Up ahead, the woodland path stretches into the distance and comes to an abrupt stop. Although the trail and the surrounding trees are visible, it all appears blurred and warped by an almost translucent wall.

Not a wall, Kakashi realises as he follows the phenomenon's progression. It stretches up into the sky, curving as it goes, like the biggest, gaudiest salad bowl in existence. The entire area behind the strange barrier appears trapped beneath a dome.

Kakashi glances at the map again, doing a few mental longitudinal calculations, and holds back a curse. "It's not where they said it would be."

"So, either the first team sent inaccurate information to the Hokage," Sasuke concludes, "or it's growing."

"Neither of which is a good thing," Kakashi agrees, frowning up at the… _thing_.

If the bubble is growing, their mission has become even more imperative. The team must assess the danger level as fast as possible and return the intel to the village.

Kakashi motions for the kids to stay behind him as he approaches the translucent field, frowning as he deliberates on how to tackle the problem. Barriers aren't a new thing for him, but he somehow doubts a minor unsealing technique will be much use in this case. He pushes up his _hitai-ate_ , tugs his mask down to free his Sharingan and studies the wall in front of him.

"Sasuke," he calls, motioning for the boy to come stand beside him. "Let's see what we can see."

Sasuke nods, resolute, and his brows draw together as he calls up his Sharingan. His eyes flick from side to side, making a mental catalogue of the area.

The scene behind the barrier is indistinguishable from the one where he and his team stand although it might as well be behind a pane of glass. He can detect nothing out of the ordinary for as far as his vision stretches.

As his acuity doesn't reach as far as a Hyūga's might, it doesn't help much.

"Anything?" Kakashi asks, the visible parts of his face pulled into a frown.

"Nothing stands out."

"Me neither."

"After all that, I guess the Sharingan's about as useful as the Byakugan," Naruto jeers, but when Sakura raises a fist in warning, he shuts up and pouts.

"What a waste of time," Sasuke grumbles, allowing his regular vision to reassert itself.

"Not yet, it isn't," Kakashi tells him. "We still have the problem of the increased circumference. The last team didn't know about that. We need to find out how it's growing—is it an isolated incident, or happening along an entire circumference?"

"Huh?" Naruto says, scratching his head.

"He means we have to find out if it's getting bigger," Sakura explains.

"The Hyūga team mentioned these coordinates in their reports as the outer limits," Kakashi says, pointing out several places on the map. "We need to check them all to find out if the bubble has grown beyond them. And if so, we need to find out how much."

He goes quiet now, considering his next move. They will need to split up for optimal coverage.

"We need one Sharingan per team," he decides. "Naruto, you're with me—Sakura, you go with Sasuke."

"Aw, come on!" Naruto whines, while Sakura punches the air in delight.

"I need everyone paying attention, not sniping with each other," Kakashi says, voice firm. "Now, let's go."

There's more to it than that, but he doesn't bother explaining it to them.

In an ideal situation, he could send Naruto and Sasuke off together and take Sakura with him. On missions, however, he isn't comfortable leaving her on her own if he can help it. The boys, when they deign to work together, are an unstoppable and effective team. They can handle danger on their own while Sakura still has a tendency to think with her heart and not her head. And unlike Naruto, who has the power to back up his impulsiveness, Sakura might end up with a serious injury.

Then again, the boys have been at each other's throats of late, and not in what Kakashi classifies as healthy rivalry, either. If he puts Sakura and Naruto together and keeps Sasuke with him, there shouldn't be an issue. Under normal circumstances, anyhow; since the attack on Konoha, Sasuke has been a more difficult case than Naruto. Kakashi also knows from experience that forcing one's presence on another will have the opposite effect. The best choice in this case is to just make sure the boy is with someone who cares about him and provides him with a different challenge.

So it has to be Sakura.

She's level-headed when she has to be and becomes more so with every mission. Kakashi has also noticed that she and Sasuke have a keen awareness of each other in conflict situations. While he doubts Sasuke even realises it, the boy is protective of her in a way he _isn't_ of Naruto. With the jinchūriki, it's a competition; with Sakura it's…

Well, it's something Kakashi suspects Sasuke hasn't had a lot of experience with since the murder of his family.

The two teams split up, each with the directive to keep an eye on how the bubble is growing and mark changes in their field booklets. That's another reason it's better that Kakashi and Sakura are part of different groups. They're both better at calculations than the boys, and when Naruto continues to complain, Kakashi says so.

Which earns two scowls and a rare, superior look from Sakura before they leave.

Despite the injured male pride, Sasuke prefers not to be around Kakashi.

His teacher knows him better than he likes, and notices more than he should. At least with Sakura, she's easy to distract with other things. He doesn't worry about her trying to psychoanalyse what's on his mind.

Like how frustrated he is with how much he's _not_ improving.

Or how more and more, he's been having nightmares about Itachi still roaming the world. He can never rest until his brother is dead, and he's been avoiding that truth. With all the training and useless missions and hanging around with Naruto and Sakura, he's forgotten that. Most disturbing of all is that with Kakashi teaching him one-on-one since the exams, Sasuke remembers more. For the first time since he lost his father and brother, he recalls what it felt like to look up to someone. If he relies too much on the comfort he gets from that, it might hold him back from doing what's necessary.

On that topic, he glances at his partner. He emits a silent groan when he realises she's been gazing at him this entire time instead of charting the phenomenon.

Because Sakura is ecstatic about Kakashi's decision.

Fate, it seems, wants her and Sasuke together, which means she can show him she's strong too!

Sasuke and Naruto are rivals and friends (even though they protest the latter fact). They challenge each other and use one another as a way of measuring strength. Sakura has been envious of their dynamic ever since their Academy days.

Honestly, sometimes Sasuke's more interested in _Naruto_ than he is in—

"Sakura, would you focus?" Sasuke sighs. "You need to keep an eye out too."

"Oh! Right—uh, yeah." She laughs, nervous. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry; just pay attention to what's important." Sasuke hesitates and, with the delicacy of someone moments from detonating an explosive tag, adds, "You're better at noticing genjutsu than me."

Ever since being exposed to Itachi's Tsukuyomi, Sasuke's brain seizes in panic during the first seconds under an illusion. He's trying to overcome this, but those crucial half-seconds wasted could one day mean the difference between success or failure on a mission. Sakura, however, has made a point of recognising genjutsu and breaking it since Kakashi cast his first one on her.

It's hard for Sasuke to accept when someone is better than he is at something. Somehow though, confessing a relative weakness to Sakura is less grating than if he were to admit such a thing to Naruto. Which he never, _ever_ will. Not without a life altering battle where he's hanging an inch from dying.

As Sasuke's words sink in, the transformation in Sakura is immediate. One moment, she is gaping at him in shock, and then a smug, confident expression passes over her features. Her head lifts and her posture straightens.

"Right," she declares, facing ahead with resolve.

Sasuke can't help staring at her in bemusement.

He doesn't understand why the truth sometimes sends her sulking, while other times, it makes her beam like she's come in first place at a competition.

He decides girls are weird and ignores the way his chest warms with something akin to amusement.

At any rate, they complete the rest of their task without incident. In no time, they have circled around the curving barrier, marking its limits and noting observations. After following the bubble over the side of a steep cliff, the two of them end up in a forested valley. Several seconds later, Kakashi and Naruto arrive.

"Well, that's that," their sensei says when they give him their report. "Nothing remarkable, apart from the fact it's growing."

"Which could be remarkable," Sakura says.

"Right. If it's grown this much since the first team was here, it could reach the village in a matter of days… if we're lucky," Kakashi confirms. "We have to find out more about it, so that if it's a threat, we know how to stop it."

"Well, what the heck are we waiting for?" Naruto demands, annoyed and impatient. He calls up a shadow clone.

"Don't—!"

Before anyone can stop him, the clone jumps through the barrier, the strange energy rippling around him as it swallows him.

"Naruto!" Sakura cries out in horror. She expects the clone to disintegrate or worse.

Beside her, the original looks smug. "Look. There's nothing wrong."

"I don't get why the other team didn't just do this," his clone says from the other side of the barrier, the voice somewhat muffled.

"You idiot," Sasuke snaps as Sakura hammers the original on the head.

"Naruto, there's a reason no one did that before," Kakashi bites out, forcing himself to stay calm. "If that barrier drains chakra, it could leech it from the original source. Or if you disturbed any hidden wards, whoever or whatever's doing this might become alerted to our presence."

"Oh," the clone and the original chorus with identical expressions of sheepishness overtaking them.

Kakashi pinches the bridge of his nose. To be honest, he's surprised it took the kid this long to try something so foolhardy. It's just lucky the knucklehead sent a clone instead of himself.

"Oh well," Kakashi continues with a sigh. "While you're in there, do you notice anything different? Strange?"

The clone blinks. "Like what?"

"… bag of hair…" Sasuke mutters.

"Is there anything different in there than there is out here?" Sakura asks. "Does it smell or feel different? Does anything _look_ different?"

The clone peers around him.

"Nope. It's about the same as—wait," it amends. "Yeah, it's drier over here. Like it hasn't rained in a while."

"But it rained not even an hour ago," Sakura points out. "All the trees are still wet here and so is the grass and the road—Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi makes a judgement call then and steps through the barrier. His immediate impression is of having a cold wave wash over him while being electrocuted at the same time. For several footsteps, it feels like he's wading through undiluted mochi.

And then he's through the barrier.

The world rushes back into focus, and the shadow clone juts his chin out at him. "See? Nothing happened." It disappears as Sasuke, Sakura and the real Naruto follow through the barrier.

"This time," Sakura says with a shiver.

Kakashi casts his eyes about to study the interior of the barrier. From this side, it's as if the bubble doesn't even exist. The world stretches on around them as if lit by a different sun and the air even tastes drier. The road they now stand on is better kept up than the road outside the bubble. It appears paved, but it joins up seamlessly with the rough path they used to travel here.

"Sasuke?"

"Right," he answers, eyes gleaming red. Kakashi activates his own Sharingan, and the two set about examining their immediate area.

"What do you see?" Sakura whispers to Sasuke.

"It's like two pieces of a puzzle that someone stuck together, but they weren't supposed to fit to begin with."

"That's because they're not supposed to," Kakashi says. "There are two different spaces pressing up against each other."

"What does that mean?"

Kakashi forgets sometimes that Sasuke doesn't know as much about the Sharingan's capabilities as he does. Instead of answering right away, he addresses the whole team. "Do any of you know why genjutsu works?"

"Genjutsu is when a shinobi controls the chakra flow of a target's cerebral nervous system, thus affecting their senses," Sakura recites.

"That's _how_ it works, not _why_."

"Huh?" Naruto says, and from his teammates' expressions, they're also lost.

Kakashi sighs and tries to figure out how to rephrase his words.

"Everyone perceives things differently. Nobody sees colour the same way, or experiences scent or sound the same. Our perceptions affect our reality. If you were to project the exact way in which you perceive something—like the smell of the ocean—it would differ from how someone else does."

"Like what I see with the Sharingan and what someone with blurred vision might see?" Sasuke suggests, a crease in his brow as he thinks about it.

"Right. If someone with blurred vision casts a genjutsu based on their perceptions, you'd see their version of the world. It wouldn't be hard to break an illusion like that," Kakashi agrees. "The reason genjutsu works, however, is that by controlling the chakra flow of a target, for a moment we open their senses enough to perceive parallel dimensions."

" _Dimensions_?" Sakura repeats, sceptical.

"Different sections of space and time," Kakashi elaborates. "Events and situations which aren't real to us, but in another place or time could be or could have been. They happen on a different plane of existence than we do, so all we can experience is an afterimage."

"So, like… there's our reality, which is the real one, but then there's a different reality? Like where they don't have shrimp or something?" Naruto posits.

"Yes. Except, well, all the realities are real. They exist in a separate space," Kakashi confirms. "When we use genjutsu, it's only an instant, but it's enough for our target's senses to compensate and build on it based on their own perceptions. Skilled genjutsu users can call on several dimensions at once and create layers."

"Which is how you get genjutsu that a person can't break out of," Sasuke states, thinking back on the world created by Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan.

"That sounds way complicated," Sakura breathes.

"There's a reason they don't teach that at the Academy," Kakashi agrees. "Shinobi don't require more than the knowledge of _how_ genjutsu works. Only those with a specific visual prowess understand the actual truth."

"So, what do we do now? Head back to the village?"

"I say we keep looking around," Naruto declares. "I mean, we're already here. Might as well have something to tell Granny Tsunade when we get back."

"We need to warn the village this thing is growing, at least," Kakashi says. "Sasuke and I will stay here, see if we can find out more. You and Sakura—"

An unintelligible yell shatters the silence, cutting off his directive. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees something drop from the sky several hundred feet away. Sound explodes in the distance and the woodland floor beneath their feet rumbles. Birds take to the sky and a billowing cloud of dust rises over the trees.

Without exchanging a word, the team takes off toward the disturbance.

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	5. Chapter Four

Team 7 bursts out of the trees and into a clearing. The space is utterly empty but for the metres-wide crater in the ground; it continues to emit clouds of dust into the air.

Kakashi motions for his team to stay back then takes several tentative steps forward, senses alert in case any threats make themselves known. Once he gets within several paces of the depression, however, he freezes in disbelief.

In the middle of the broken earth, the body of a child lies motionless.

It's a girl, he discovers, and one not much older than Sakura. She is spread-eagled on her back, blood soaking her face and black hair. Her right arm juts out at an impossible angle—dislocated shoulder, from the look of it—and her hand looks shattered. Bone fragments pierce through the skin there.

"Oh my gosh!" Sakura cries, hurrying forward. "Is she okay?"

"Be careful," Kakashi tells her, forcing her to stay back. "We don't know where she came from or how she got here. And we don't know the capabilities of anyone on this side of the phenomenon."

"But she's in such bad shape…"

Which is an understatement, considering the girl is so bruised and battered that her clothing is in tatters. Entire chunks of her dull red tunic have been torn away, likely from falling debris.

"She's wearing a _hitai-ate_ ," Naruto points out, peeking over the depression in the ground. His eyes widen. "She's from Konoha!"

Sakura pushes forward at that, sliding down into the crater to kneel by the girl. She presses her fingers to the side of her neck and her eyes widen. "She's alive!"

"We've got to help her!" Naruto insists, also scrambling down to help.

Sasuke hangs back, staring at the prone figure in calculation.

"Where did she come from?" he mutters.

Which is exactly what Kakashi would like to know.

He glances up, hoping for a clue, but sees nothing except clouds. Given the formation of the crater and the angle she's lying at, she had to have fallen from directly above. Which makes no sense, considering there's nothing she could have fallen from. The cliffs towering over the valley are a good three hundred or so metres away.

The girl groans.

"Look, Kakashi-sensei! She's waking up!" Sakura cries, and everyone's attention shifts to the stranger whose eyelids flutter. Her face spasms in pain, and her eyes squint open.

Kakashi and Sasuke move closer to her as well.

"Are you all right?" Naruto asks, despite the obvious answer.

"… Mama… Papa…" she murmurs dazedly, frowning at Kakashi and Naruto. "Uncle…?"

Sakura leans over her, concern etched into every part of her small frame. "Do you think she's delirious or something?"

"Probably a concussion. Check her pupils," Sasuke points out, now also crouching down beside her.

"That's not a surprise," Kakashi admits, remembering the sudden yell and how fast the explosion came afterward. "A fall from that height should have killed her."

The question is why it didn't.

"Hey!" Naruto shouts exuberantly, darting away and back in an instant. He cradles something in his hands. "Look what I found!"

It's a pair of bent, cracked glasses. They match the colour of the girl's clothing, so there's a good chance they belong to her.

"I can't believe those survived," Sasuke remarks.

"They must have come off in the fall," Kakashi suggests. If they'd stayed on, they would've been crushed into her face and eyes on impact.

Sakura mops the blood from the girl's brow as best she can then holds a hand out for the glasses. Once Naruto passes them over, she settles them carefully across the bridge of the girl's nose.

This appears to improve the stranger's focus because her eyes widen at the sight of the people standing over her. She gapes, opening her mouth to speak—there's blood there, too, and she probably loosened a few teeth on impact—but no sound comes out.

"Shh," Sakura stops her. "Don't try to talk. You're really hurt right now. It's best if you just save your energy."

But the girl slowly shakes her head, tears welling in onyx eyes.

"I'm…dead, aren't I?" she croaks, lips trembling with what could be as much fear as pain. "I have to…be. That's the…only reason…I can…you…"

She trails off when something like understanding crosses her features. She tries to inch away—only to shriek sharply in agony.

"No! Stop that! Don't move!" Sakura orders, panicked.

The girl doesn't listen, instead bringing up her left hand. With trembling fingers, she forms a sign.

" _Kai_!" she gasps. When nothing appears to happen, dread enters her voice, and she tries again. " _K-Kai_!"

"She thinks we're a genjutsu," Sasuke realises while Sakura tries to calm the girl before she exacerbates her wounds any more.

"Why?"

"She's confused. Head injury, it looks like," Kakashi answers. The girl whimpers and shuts her eyes, breathing in short, pained gasps.

"We have to get her back to the village," Sakura says. "The Hokage can—"

"No."

"What? _Why?!"_

"For all we know, this girl is from this side of the breach."

"But she might not be!"

"But if she is and we bring her back through with us? There's a risk of disrupting her world and ours. What happens if the phenomenon stops and she gets stuck there?"

"What happens if it stops and _we_ get stuck _here_ ," Sasuke counters, thinking along the same lines.

He and Naruto eye the girl again, this time with wariness.

Sakura's eyes blaze. "So, you're telling me that we're not even going to _try_ to help her?!"

"I didn't say that," Kakashi is quick to assure her.

In situations where Sakura refuses to do something, Naruto and Sasuke are even less likely to obey. Kakashi might be their leader, but he's also learned that the three of them have a tendency do the exact opposite of his orders. And somehow, against all odds, they always manage to be right about it

He kneels by both girls. "We have to do what we came here to do…at least until we learn more about what's going on."

"And if we heal her, she can tell us," Sasuke points out.

"Exactly. So, on that note—Sasuke, Naruto, keep an eye on the surrounding area," Kakashi orders. "This girl didn't get to be here on her own, I don't think. See if there's anything around that might explain what happened."

"Got it."

"Right!"

Kakashi takes a moment to assess the girl before moving her. Although she barely seemed to retain enough motor skills before to pull away from them and move her hand, it's best to be careful.

He scoops her up, pulling her to his chest. As he does so, he notices that her back is an even worse mess than her front. It's full of bruises and scratches, which he can see because the entire back of her dress has been torn off. There's nothing but black bandages there, raw, threadbare, and stuck to her skin with blood and sweat. Kakashi frowns at one chunk of fabric, slashed right across the top of what might have been a red circle. It could possibly be the Leaf symbol most jōnin wear on their flak jackets, but there's not enough of it left for him to be sure.

In any case, that particular cut is too clean, a straight swipe from a blade. The rest of the tears in her clothing are more ragged, like they were made from a blast shockwave. It's as if she was too close to an exploding tag when it detonated.

 _A matter the ponder later_.

Right now, they need to get out of the open so he can assess the girl's injuries. There's a small area back in the copse of trees, shaded by brush and overhang. He heads there, sending a clone of himself to keep watch as he does. Meanwhile, Sakura helps him lower the girl to the ground.

"I need you to hold her still."

"Why?" she asks.

"I'm going to set her arm. And it will hurt."

The girl whines again, trying to drag herself away from them.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Sakura asks quietly. "You might make it worse."

"Give me some credit," Kakashi replies easily, injecting confidence into his tone. "A comrade of mine showed me the basics once. It's not going to heal her completely, but I can at least put the bones back where they're supposed to be."

"How?" Sakura asks. "That hand looks like it was crushed by a rock."

"If I'm not mistaken, it was her hand that did the crushing," he replies, studying the mess of bones.

Sakura blinks. It only takes her a moment to work out what he means. "Wait…like what Lady Tsunade can do?"

"Maybe." He digs into his pouch and brings out two round pills. "Here. Painkillers. She's going to want these. I'm afraid I don't have the same qualifications as a medic-nin, so I'm using a cruder method."

Sakura takes the tablets and induces the girl to swallow them. The girl fights, spitting them out, eyes wide but glazed with pain and fear.

"No! Not…me!" she tries to protest. "Find them! Heal…them, not me!"

"Who?"

" – aru-sensei…tsuki…poisoned, and I couldn't… And Boru…to…he's…!" Panic makes her thrashing more violent. It's all Sakura can do to hold on to her. "Please, the Ghost-Man… He'll kill—"

Her words cut off, turning into an agonised keen. All of her movements have jostled her injured arm, and Kakashi decides they will deal with that first—sedatives or not.

"Okay, shoulder first and then the rest," Kakashi decides. "Sakura, keep her calm and get a good grip."

They manoeuvre their patient until Sakura is supporting her closely and firmly. To her surprise, the girl seems to melt into her, clutching at her with her uninjured hand.

"Mama…" she whispers plaintively. "You're here."

 _Delirium's already set in_ , Kakashi notices grimly. _Can her injuries be infected already? Or has she finally hit her pain threshold?_

"Um…" Sakura hesitates, her eyes darting to her teacher who nods for her to go along with it. It's important that she be as relaxed as possible for this. "Of course I'm here…sweetheart…"

She must say something right because the girl visibly relaxes.

"Papa's going to save them, right?" she beseeches, a naked trust in her gaze that makes Sakura's heart twinge. "He knows…he knows they're…?"

Sakura swallows and agrees with the lie. "Of course. Your…Papa…always saves the day, right?"

"Yeah," the girl agrees.

With a shove, Kakashi sets the girl's shoulder back into its socket. Her eyes roll back and she goes limp, head settling into the crook of Sakura's neck.

"She fainted!"

"Yes, she did," Kakashi says, placing his hand on the girl's head and concentrating. "And it's probably better she doesn't wake up for a while. It's not going to be fun for her while I fix the hand."

He has nothing close to Rin's medical talents, but she showed him enough that he can check for internal bleeding. Luckily (and against all odds, really), there doesn't seem to be any sort of swelling or internal injury in her head that he can sense. The girl suffered a considerable blow, but nothing she won't recover from once she wakes up.

Kakashi closes his right eye, relying only on the Sharingan; given the delicate bones in the hand and fingers, it would be best to see the most detail possible. There might also be some fracturing of her radius and ulna, if the bruising there is anything to go by, but all the breaks appear to be clean.

 _Luckier and luckier_ , he thinks, taking up a kunai. He needs to open the skin to reset the bones.

"There's nothing around here," Sasuke says from Kakashi's left as he and Naruto return. "We checked within the immediate area, but there's not even signs of a struggle."

"We might need to search a little higher up," Kakashi replies, thinking of the cliffs nearby. It's the likeliest explanation for how she got here, but even if she did come from that height, she must've been thrown with considerable force.

Something which, once again, begs the question of her survival.

"What are you doing?" Naruto demands, craning over Kakashi's shoulder to stare as the jōnin makes an incision in the skin on the back of the girl's hand. "Oh, gross! Oh, man, I'm going to hurl—!"

"Go over there, idiot!" Sakura barks, shoving him away with one hand.

"Stop it, both of you! I need to concentrate!" Kakashi snaps. "Naruto, go find me something we can use as a splint. A thick chunk of bark will be fine, big enough to support her forearm."

"Yeah, okay…"

Face tinged green, Naruto darts away. Even Sasuke hangs back a bit, looking discomfited. Sakura is the only one to lean close, peering over the unconscious girl's head to watch Kakashi's movements like a hawk.

He busies himself with gently moving skin and muscle out of the way, so that he has the best angle to fix the bone. As he works, he occasionally sends bursts of chakra to the site of the incision, fighting back any infection or impurities. Sepsis is not something he, or this girl, are going to want to deal with.

"Are you sure you didn't see anyone else?" Sakura asks Sasuke while Kakashi continues to work. "She said she was with someone. Or a few people. They were hurt. Poisoned even. And she mentioned her sensei…"

"She might be on another genin squad then," Sasuke suggests.

"I wish she had said whose," Kakashi mumbles. Tsunade didn't mention another team out here and neither did the Hyūga squad.

"We're lucky she told us what she did," Sakura points out. "She didn't have a lot of energy left for details."

Sasuke's eye twitches in an almost-wince of sympathy as he watches Kakashi put the bones back in. "This girl must have an amazing tolerance for pain."

 _Not just pain. Healing, too_ , Kakashi muses, frowning at something his chakra probing has discovered. The girl's body appears to be helping him excise bacteria. The regenerative properties aren't in the same league as someone like Naruto or Tsunade, but at the same time, they are there.

He's never heard of a genin with the ability to facilitate self-healing like this, not unless they possess a kekkei genkai or trained with medical ninjutsu. And on that note, he would really like to know who her teacher is.

 _Of course, we're not going to find out any of that until she wakes up_ , he knows. _Which, if she has a head injury, might never happen…_

ナルト

When Sarada wakes up the second time, the pain in her right side is still substantial, but not quite as bewildering as before. It's enough to keep her from checking for genjutsu again, at any rate. Although the sight of her much-younger parents and the two Kage gathered around her is not quite the shock it was before, she still can't quite comprehend it.

Her mother is coltish and pale, her eyes too large for her face and her forehead more pronounced than Sarada is used to.

 _Good to know it's something I can grow into._

Her eyes continue to rove over the pink-haired girl. The rather ample brow is also completely devoid of the rhombus-shaped Byakugō. Beside her, Sarada's father's face is twisted into a sulking scowl she's never seen him wear. She has a very clear view of it, too, because not only does his hair not obscure it, he has two normal eyes. They're as black as hers and show no sign of the amethyst Rinnegan.

Uncle Kakashi looks the same, at least, adjusting his mask over his left eye.

 _Oh, right, he has the Sharingan right now. That's kind of weird._

And Lord Seventh— _Naruto_ ¸ she reminds herself—is still clad head to toe in orange, but for some reason, he looks more goofy than dignified. It's probably the absence of the Hokage cloak.

There really is no other explanation for what's going on.

Somehow, impossibly, she appears to have travelled in time.

 _Did hitting the ground that hard do something?_ Sarada remembers her brief conversation with Konohamaru. _My Sharingan was activated, and the whole area is covered with that weird chakra signature. Did I somehow punch through dimensions?_

Even as she entertains the ridiculous idea, she is ninety-five percent sure that's not what happened. But it doesn't change the fact that she's experiencing the trappings of a world that isn't completely her own.

 _Okay…what do I do now?_

Aside from the huge problem that she's injured, her rescuers are all watching her with wary curiosity. Sarada recognises each expression perfectly and knows that means questions are headed her way.

 _Questions I don't have time for because—_

"My team!" she gasps, snapping into a sitting position. "Oh!"

Not a good move on her part, her body reminds her.

"Careful!" her mother tells her, slipping an arm around her back to steady her. Sarada shudders, the raw skin on her back stinging when it meets her—meets _Sakura_ 's hand. "Take it slow."

Sarada grits her teeth and glances down at her right side, noticing that her arm has been set and splinted.

A thick chunk of tree bark supports the entire forearm, her swollen hand and fingers curving naturally around the edge. The whole thing has been bound roughly with bandages, but it's done well: not tight enough to cut off circulation, if the stabbing pain is any indication. They have a sling on her as well although—Sarada blinks in surprise—it's been improvised. It's made of the familiar dark rose fabric of her mother's tunic dress. Sarada peers at the other girl and realises the outfit has been sacrificed from the waist down.

Abruptly, her view of her mother is obscured by Kakashi who crouches in front of her face.

"Can you tell me who you are?"

Sarada has never heard a more loaded question, and her first instinct is to react with a note of hysteria.

 _Oh, yeah, hi. I'm Sarada. Sarada_ Uchiha _. I'm a genin out on a mission that was supposed to be a cat-rescue, but instead, ended up with me travelling in time. See that pink-haired girl over there and the guy who kind of looks like he smells something gross? They're my parents. Neat, huh?_

She swallows, ignoring her parched mouth. "Sarada."

"Sarada. Okay. I'm Kakashi. Nice to meet you," he says, his eye crinkling up like he's smiling beneath the mask. The expression doesn't match his careful tone, though, and she recognises his way of trying to put her at ease. "Do you know what day it is?"

 _That's not exactly the most pressing issue at the moment, is it? I'm a bit more concerned with the fact I think I've travelled in time. Which shouldn't be possible. I mean, forget the weirdness of it, but scientifically speaking—Oh. Right. You want an actual answer._

"W-Wednesday?"

This is apparently a satisfactory answer.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

 _Of all the stupid… Oh! Oh, he's checking for brain damage, not time travel. Right! I can do this!_

"Three."

"Where are we right now?"

"F-forest. Near Konoha."

"And who's Hokage?"

Sarada opens her mouth to answer and freezes. Because right now, the utter impossibility of her situation fades from her mind and is replaced with the exact ramification of what voicing it might cause.

There's no concrete evidence that she herself has travelled back in time or whether her loved ones have moved forward; either way, she can't mention Lord Seventh. That will confuse them, or worse, make them think she's a spy or insane.

Mama told her a few stories about growing up under the rule of both Lord Third and Lady Fifth, so it could be either of them right now. Sarada has a fifty-fifty shot at this, and hopes that if she gets it wrong, Lord Sixth—Kakashi—will think she just hit her head _really_ hard.

"Lady Tsunade?"

"Hm." Kakashi studies her for a further moment and nods. "Well, you're a little slow, but there doesn't seem to be a concussion. Which is amazing, considering your other injuries."

 _Oh, good, I was right_ , she thinks relaxing a bit. Then she frowns. _Hey, I am not_ slow! _This is me working under pressure, and I'm doing a pretty good job, thanks very much. Especially considering I was just—_

At which point, reality hits her again.

"I have to rescue my teammates," she announces, trying to push herself to her feet. "I need to—"

"You need to stay still," Mama— _no! Sakura!—_ implores her, holding her down. "You're injured and running around will make it worse."

The pink-haired girl's strength is nothing like it will be one day, but Sarada is weak enough right now that it does the job.

"But you don't understand! They might be dying, and I have to find out—"

"You aren't strong enough to do anything right now," Sasuke cuts her off, tone flat, "except answer our questions."

"Sasuke's right," Kakashi agrees. "You need to tell us what happened to you and your team. We're in a better position than you are to do anything about it."

"I don't have time to—!"

"Hey, you heard Kakashi-sensei," Naruto interrupts. "You're not going anywhere anytime soon. So, spill the beans, and we'll do something about it. It'll be faster if you tell us what we want to know. Believe it!"

"Start at the beginning," Sakura encourages.

Sarada gapes at the familiar faces around her, all of whom show no signs of budging on the issue. She knows each of those expressions intimately and understands that arguing is going to waste precious time. She stretches her mind, trying to find the most logical explanation that hints of truth. Sarada knows from experience that Kakashi easily sees through lies, so coming up with anything other than the truth which isn't the whole truth will be difficult.

"The Hokage sent me and my team out here," she begins, completely honest.

Kakashi and his team exchange looks, and Sarada feels a pit form in her stomach. She's already said something wrong.

"Granny only talked about one team, though," Naruto mentions, screwing up his face in confusion.

"And none of the Hyūga mentioned anyone else investigating the bubble," Sakura adds hesitantly.

"Um, our mission had nothing to do with any bubble," Sarada says carefully. "We were sent out here to investigate a bunch of ghost sightings."

"Ghosts?" Sasuke repeats, something like an incredulous sneer in his voice. Sarada frowns because her father never sounds like that.

"Yeah. People were reporting these…apparitions they couldn't explain. So, the Hokage sent us out to see what it was. We thought it was just teenagers playing pranks, or another cat…but…" She trails off, closing her eyes as she relives the events of her day. "It's all so confusing—it came out of nowhere, and there was no reason for it."

"What?" Naruto questions.

"We were just exploring. There was a shed, but it wasn't actually a shed, and…he came out of nowhere. This…pale, creepy… I've been calling him a ghost. He just showed up and attacked. He got my sensei right away."

"Your sensei must not be that good," Sasuke scoffs.

Sarada glares at her father—

 _No! It's_ Sasuke _, he's not my father yet!_

She's used to him treating others dismissively, perhaps even with exasperation, but he's never so callous. And never with her.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" she cries. "The guy who attacked was using this… He could teleport! We thought it was a variation of the Fourth Hokage's _Hiraishin_."

Kakashi's eyes widen at this, while Sakura gasps and says, "I've read about that."

"What the heck does that mean?" Naruto demands.

He doesn't seem as impressed or interested at the mention of his father's technique being used by a potential enemy, which is weird. Boruto was at least a little upset about it.

"He was able to move faster than the blink of an eye," Sakura explains.

"Oh."

"Exactly. And despite how fast he was, _my sensei_ pushed my teammate out of the path of a kunai that was aimed at his head," Sarada says. She doesn't bother disguising the challenge in her tone directed at Sasuke. "He took a poisoned kunai to the back so that he didn't lose one of his students."

Sasuke has the decency not to say anything to that. At least this younger version of him still understands the importance of protecting one's comrades.

"Who is your sensei?" Kakashi asks.

Sarada's heart constricts because she can't talk about Konohamaru any more than she can talk about Naruto. This is it. They will realise something's up.

"S-Sarutobi-sensei," she says, hedging her bets and hoping that being vague makes them less likely to question her. Konohamaru's father only just retired from taking on genin squads, but she's not sure when he started. "He's a descendent of the Third Hokage, so he's an elite ninja."

 _There. That was the truth. Please don't ask me anything else!_

The gods appear to be on her side because Kakashi mutters something that sounds like 'Arata' and looks thoughtful. The name means nothing to her, but she nods anyway.

"What happened after that?" Naruto asks.

"I-I don't know. I—we couldn't check. There was no time. And this…Ghost-Man. He was strange. He kept talking, saying he didn't want to kill us. But he'd strike out in ways which would've been fatal if we didn't dodge. It felt kind of like he was arguing with someone invisible—or himself," she adds as almost an afterthought. "Anyway, that was before he got a good look at my other teammate. And then he just snapped, and it got ten times worse."

"Why did the sight of your teammate upset him?"

"I…honestly have no idea. After that, it was like we were fighting a bunch of him at once, but they weren't clones. It was just him because he's so fast."

"What you say is impossible," Kakashi tells her. "No one has ever matched the speed of Lord Fourth. And since his death, no one has come close to mastering his technique, either."

"Well, this guy could do it," Sarada insists grimly. "He didn't even need anything to mark his place. Which is what happened to me. He teleported me into mid-air and dropped me. Then disappeared before he could fall with me."

"Speaking of that—how did you survive? Aside from luck?"

"I channelled all of my remaining chakra into my fist," Sarada explains, barely resisting the urge to hold it up in demonstration. The appendage twinges even at the thought. "I figured if I hit the ground with it just before the rest of my body did, the force would cause an air pocket to break up the ground."

"So, it wouldn't be a soft landing, but you wouldn't be a pancake, either," Sakura realises.

"Exactly."

"That's sort of what Granny Tsunade can do," Naruto points out, then grins at Sarada. "That's kind of awesome!"

Sarada can't help the flood of warmth to her cheeks. He might barely be older than her right now, but compliments from Lord Seventh always make her feel giddy.

"I…uh…I didn't know Lady Tsunade had taken on an apprentice," Sakura mentions softly, an awkward tremble in her voice. "Other than Lady Shizune, of course."

Sarada frowns a little, unsure what her mother is upset about, but no one else seems to notice. Naruto looks a bit amazed, and even though Sasuke is scowling, she recognises the appraising way his eyes flick over her.

 _Like he's assessing an opponent_ , she realises with equal parts thrill and apprehension.

Kakashi looks thoughtful. "You must have excellent chakra control."

"Obviously it didn't do any good."

"As you're not dead, I'd say you're wrong there."

"I meant for my team! Two of them are injured, and even if Boruto got away, I bet my sensei is still up there!"

This time she points—albeit with her uninjured hand—to the top of the cliff.

"Your team is probably dead after this long," Sasuke points out.

Sakura protests, "Sasuke!"

Sarada hasn't had such a strong urge to punch her father since the day she first met him investigating the Shin Uchiha clones. She's never known him to be excessively tactful, but with her, he's always tried to soften his words.

"They're not!" she insists, glaring at him and only barely managing to keep her Sharingan in check. If anyone sees her activate the kekkei genkai, her vague story falls apart. Especially considering in this time, the Uchiha don't exist outside of her father and—

Wait.

That's not true at this moment, is it? If she's really travelled in time, then Itachi Uchiha is still alive out there.

Sarada's anger is temporarily muted in favour of speculation.

Her father has told her stories—vague ones, but in them, he speaks of his brother like he's a hero. Sarada always wished she could meet him and maybe—

 _This isn't time for a family reunion!_ _I have to save Konohamaru-sensei or all of them, if Boruto didn't manage to get himself and Mitsuki away!_

"…afraid we can't be sure," Kakashi is saying, his visible eye grim. "This exceeds the parameters of a typical genin mission, if his talents are as you described. It's not too far-fetched to assume, considering he tried to kill you, that he killed the others as well."

"No!" Sarada insists. "The only reason he did that—I think—is because I was a threat to him!"

Sasuke snorts in disbelief.

 _Punching him soon. Very definitely punching him soon. And he's probably not as strong as he usually is, so I'd get him, too!_

Inwardly seething, Sarada has to force herself to ignore him.

"I…have abilities," she hedges, and when Kakashi looks like he wants to hear more, she adds, "When I'm not crippled, I mean. And I was distracting him from getting to the others, so…so he got rid of me."

"This…ghost might've gotten rid of the others, too, though," Sakura speaks up quietly. "Maybe not, you know, dropping them to their deaths, but there's other ways to make a body disappear. A skilled shinobi—"

"Then we have to look!" Sarada shouts, temper flaring. Again, she forces herself to be calm and the Sharingan to remain hidden. In a more controlled manner, she continues. "Crazy as that Ghost-Man was, once my sensei and teammate were down, he didn't show any interest in finishing them off. In fact, he said something about questioning them. They're alive. They must be! And if you're not going to help me, leave me alone, so I can go find them myself!"

"No need for that. I'll help you," Naruto promises.

"Naruto!" Sakura protests.

"What? We need to help her find her team. It's the right thing to do."

"And even if they are dead, it's our responsibility to find their bodies and make sure no one learns any secrets from Konoha," Sasuke adds, bored.

Kakashi sighs.

"It's in our best interest to check this out," he concludes. "And time is of the essence, not only for your friends, but for our mission as well."

He nods to himself.

"Right. Sasuke, Naruto, and I will head up there and look around. Meanwhile, you and Sakura stay here." When he spots the mutinous look in her eyes, he adds, "Just to scope things out. We'll need you to show us anything up there that can help us find your teammates, but for now, you have to rest. You're very weak right now, and we're not risking bringing you up there until we're sure it's safe."

Sarada grudgingly nods.

Kakashi appears surprised by her acquiescence, but he oughtn't be. Sarada trusts his advice implicitly, and he might not be the Sixth Hokage right now, but he is still a jōnin and probably knows best.

For now.

Better than her emotionally constipated, idiot father at any rate.

つづく

* * *

 _I am not a doctor or medic or whatever, the extent of my medical knowledge comes from Grey's Anatomy and questions asked on the NaNoWriMo forum…so any inaccuracies in what I said up there? Let's just pass it off as a quirk of the Naruto world and not my less than stellar biological knowledge…_

 _On that note, I have Sarada having a little bit of innate healing capability because I know Sakura will have begun to train her, but obviously it's still minimal. Like, she is not going to have a perfectly healed hand by the end of this fic (unless I decide to bring Tsunade or Adult Sakura in later, which I haven't decided yet), because she is a long way off from having that ability. Still, there's enough of a foundation there for Kakashi to go hmmmm. And yes, Kakashi knows some basic medic-ninjutsu. Can you really see Rin not making him to learn some after Obito died? I have this image in my head of her forcing him to read every medical textbook she owned…and scolding him/guilting him when he tried to sneak a peak at his Icha Icha books…_

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	6. Interlude I

Mitsuki is awake but cannot move.

He can feel a dull pain in his abdomen from the knife wound, but decides that's a good sign. It means the paralysis must be wearing off.

But not before the man with the mottled skin returns, holding an unconscious Boruto by the scruff of his neck. Not before he drags them all over to Konohamaru and wraps his arms around them all. Not before the world spins in a kaleidoscope of colour and rushing air, and then they are suddenly inside _somewhere_.

It is dark and damp and smells of unwashed bodies and animals and a particularly unpleasant burning, metallic odour.

"I have brought the door stoppers, as the goddess requested," the man says with puzzling good cheer, the curse-mark fading beneath its seal as he drops Mitsuki and his teammates unceremoniously to the hard stone floor. "Is it enough?"

"Bring them closer," a female voice rasps in the darkness. "Let me look upon them."

And that's when Mitsuki realises for the first time they are not alone.

He wishes he hadn't.

As a child of Orochimaru, his upbringing was not as sheltered as his friends. He has seen limbs transplanted and bodies cobbled together as if from spare parts and bodies incubating in vats of water.

Somehow, none of it prepared him for the grotesque creature before him.

Lidless eyes blaze down at him, spinning in the red and black he recognises as a Sharingan. Dried blood crusts on her cheeks like ancient tear tracks, only they are black and cracked from time. Her lips are dry and cut in places, rotting teeth gritting together in what he thinks must be constant pain. Her body is that of a living skeleton, paper-thin skin over jutting bone, and entirely bare except for the thick cables keeping her affixed to the stone walls surrounding them. Sigils trace up the sides of her flesh, twisting around old suture scars that trail up her neck and to a shaved scalp. Cords and wires bave been drilled into the base of her skull and temples.

Its every nightmare he has had for himself since waking in Orochimaru's lair with no memory of how he got there.

The man brings Konohamaru and Boruto before her, holding the limp forms closer for her to see. The _tomoe_ in her Sharingan spin in calculation as she studies them, gazing at something Mitsuki cannot see.

"Not a big enough impact," she dismisses, and the ghost-like man shifts to push Boruto in front of her. She puzzles for several long moments, and then says. "There is something…a mark upon him. Find it."

The man promptly drops Konohamaru to the ground and begins to manhandle Boruto, making Mitsuki's teeth clench. He tries to move, but can only make his fingers twitch a little.

The man makes a sound of discovery and holds up Boruto's right hand.

The woman's teeth skin back. " _Kāma_. Not worth the potential temporal collapse."

"Is that not what the goddess wishes?" her minion asks.

"I require a paradox—a hole in time, not its total destruction. Bring the other." He hesitates. "What is it?"

"The boy…wishes to keep this one. Too much like the Snake Man. He requires death. It would be… _unwise_ —"

"It is unwise to disobey me," the woman retorts coldly, and the man rushes to carry out her orders. Boruto also ends up crumpled on the floor without an afterthought.

Mitsuki's toes can move now, but it's useless to him as he is dragged over and held upright by his abductor. Several feet from the woman's terrible face, he gags as her breath overwhelms him.

"Your eyes," she murmurs, slow and thoughtful, the Sharingan spinning within the lidless sockets. "What will they tell me?"

Without warning, the Sharingan pupils widen and then, the world falls away, and all Mitsuki knows is pain.

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	7. Chapter Five

"If you can move, we need to find a better location where you two can wait," Kakashi declares, straightening his body. "This place will do for triage, but if what you say about your assailant is true, we want to stay as far out of view as possible."

The girl—Sarada—nods once, mouth drawn into a determined frown, and gets to her feet.

"Hold on," Sakura blurts. She puts a hand on the girl's good shoulder and throws out the other as if to ward off Naruto and Sasuke. "You two need to back up."

"What? Why?" Naruto demands.

"Ever heard of a thing called 'modesty'? You're not allowed to see a girl in her underthings!"

Sarada, confused by this, glances down, notices the state of her clothes, and squeaks in embarrassment. The tatters of her tunic show glimpses of her skin and underwear beneath them. While it wasn't something of concern before, it is now that she's out of danger.

"So why aren't you pushing Kakashi-sensei out of the way?" Naruto demands, his cheeks turning red. Still, he obliges and turns away. "He's the one who reads—"

"Because he's giving her medical attention. It's different," Sakura snaps. "Now give me your jacket."

This brings him up short. "Huh?"

"She can't go around with her shirt falling off, stupid!"

"Okay, okay—hey, wait a minute! Why me?"

"Because I've already given what I could for the sling! It's easier for you to take off your jacket than it is for me to go around with no shirt on!"

"Why not? It's not like you've got anything under there to hide— _ow!"_

"Here."

Sakura and Naruto stop their arguing and stare over at Sasuke. Sakura almost has a nosebleed at the sight of him taking off his high-collared blue shirt to offer to Sarada. It should be no big deal—he's still wearing a black undershirt—but they might as well be seeing him naked because Sasuke never removes clothing unless necessary.

 _This is the guy who makes Naruto catch fish because he refuses to strip down, and he just up and offered his shirt to a complete stranger? A complete_ girl _stranger?_ Sakura gibbers in her mind. _It's too bad he doesn't wear mesh under his clothes, like Naruto. I mean, the black is cool too, but—Augh! Stop it! Focus!_

Naruto notices the glazed look in Sakura eyes and rolls his own. _Great. We've lost her. What is it with Sasuke and girls?_

But when he glances over at Sarada, he notices she isn't staring at Sasuke in admiration, but rather confusion.

"Well, go on," he orders, disliking the attention. "No one should be forced to wear that idiot's clothes. They're probably full of fleas."

"Oi! Take that back, Sasuke!"

Sarada accepts his shirt with hesitation. Her thumb brushes across the _uchiwa_ symbol on the back with what almost looks like the beginnings of a smile on her face.

Sasuke doesn't understand why that feels like victory, nor does he bother to dwell on it. Instead, he surveys the rest of his squad's expressions which range from speculative to resentful to dismayed.

Kakashi clears his throat. "All right. Let's find a temporary shelter."

"There's a small cave we found a little past the tree line," Naruto says. "Looks abandoned—and it sort of smells a bit, but it's hidden."

"Then how did you find it?" Sakura asks as she helps the girl into Sasuke's shirt. There's a tense set to her jaw that Kakashi doubts anyone other than he has noticed. Naruto mumbles under his breath and shoots a jealous glare at Sasuke. The implication is clear that it was the dark-haired boy who found it, not him.

It's a short trek to the cavern, and after making sure the girls are hidden from view, Kakashi takes off for the cliffs. The boys follow, as usual, pretending they aren't trying to race one another.

The three of them sprint to the top, weapons at the ready on the off-chance that whatever or whoever threw the girl over is still there. Kakashi isn't too hopeful about that. If anyone is still around, he suspects they'd have heard a struggle. Sound carries, especially down into the valley.

"Think we'll find anything?" Naruto pants as they climb.

"I doubt it," Kakashi replies. He also expects to come upon the bloody remains of the girl's team. "If we're very unlucky, it will only be bodies."

"Do you know her teacher? You talked about him earlier."

Kakashi's grimness increases tenfold. "Yes. The only person it could be is Arata Sarutobi."

"Who?"

"Lord Third's older son. He retired from ANBU after his father died. I guess he figured teaching genin would be a lot less dangerous, since he's the new head of the clan."

 _Although I didn't realise they had already assigned him a team…_

"I didn't know the old man had a son!"

"Don't be an idiot. You had to," Sasuke retorts. "His kid follows you around the village like a dog."

"Oh, yeah. Wait! So that girl's sensei is Konohamaru's… _dad_?" Naruto exclaims, and then an edge of steel enters his voice. "We've got to save him then! Konohamaru's lost enough!"

He speeds up, outpacing them.

"Naruto wait!" Kakashi calls out, but the boy shows no sign of stopping. Not to be outdone, Sasuke puts on a burst of speed too. Before he knows it, Kakashi is trailing behind them.

 _Should have known that'd upset them._

Because Naruto and Sasuke grew up as orphans, they are both affected by the idea of a child being left without a parent. To top that off, Konohamaru is like an annoying kid brother to Naruto; he won't rest until he's done everything to make sure the younger boy loses no more of his family.

If finding Sarada's team wasn't the goal before, it is now.

They arrive at the top of the cliff, climbing into an empty clearing. Kakashi doesn't even need to tell them to split up their search, and soon, the three of them are combing the surrounding area.

At first there doesn't seem to be anything, but with the help of their Sharingan, he and Sasuke pick up signs of a struggle in several places. Footprints on the ground, discarded shuriken, blood on the grass in several spots…

"Whoever this guy is, he isn't trained formally as a ninja," Sasuke says, appearing beside Kakashi. "He hasn't even bothered to clean up after himself."

"Hm…"

Kakashi frowns at the scene in front of him, trying to ignore the grainy cast of the surrounding air. Whatever is causing it hasn't affected his or his team's ability to interfere with the environment. It's possible it's an incomplete barrier.

 _Perhaps that somehow contributed to the lack of tracks?_

"I found this out in the woods leading back to Konoha," Naruto calls, hurrying over to them. He holds a scrap of fabric—black, pink and made of a fibre Kakashi cannot name. "But otherwise there's no sign of anything or anyone, and I had three clones helping me search."

"So Sarada's story could be true. It could be a version of Lord Fourth's _Hiraishin_ ," Kakashi allows, crouching down to examine the stretch of bloodied ground in front of him.

"Or just a very advanced _Shushin_ ," Sasuke suggests.

"That's what _Hiraishin_ is. Lord Fourth developed it so he could take on multiple opponents. He was so fast, it seemed to his enemies he had perfected the _Kage no Bushin_ that Naruto uses."

"Was he—was he seriously that fast?" Naruto asks, eyes wide in appreciation.

He looks so painfully like his father and, for a moment, Kakashi wishes he could tell him the truth. It's an important experience, being able to look up to one's father. Kakashi and Sasuke both had that opportunity even if it was brief; for Naruto's own protection, he never has.

And if the village Elders continue to enforce the Third Hokage's gag order, he never will.

"Yes," Kakashi says, returning his attention to the question. "But he wasn't able to do so without an anchor of some sort."

"But if he was that fast, how could Sarada's sensei do what she said he did—move fast enough to save her teammate?"

Kakashi considers this.

"Arata is an elite ninja, and he was that long before he settled down. As I recall, he possesses excellent reflexes. Of course, it could be something as simple as dumb luck." He turns to Sasuke. "What do you think?"

"She isn't being honest with us."

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto demands. Kakashi suspects that he, like Sakura, didn't pick up on the holes in the girl's story.

"She was nervous talking to us. And evasive."

"Well, she woke up with a bunch of strangers hanging over her. Wouldn't you be shifty? She's just some genin like us—"

"A genin who can use very advanced techniques," Kakashi says. "The mission she talked about—it was probably C-rank or lower, before whatever or whoever attacked. Do either of you recognise her?"

The village is big enough that it's possible not to be acquainted with everyone personally, but the margin is small.

Naruto scratches his chin, eyes crinkling in thought. "Hunh. I guess she looks kind of familiar. But I dunno where I've seen her before. Maybe we met her at the Chūnin Exam?"

"We didn't," Sasuke disagrees. "And she wasn't at the Academy with us, either."

He's never bothered remembering the faces of random girls (he's made a point of completely ignoring them), but he feels like he should know _this_ one.

The uncertainty makes him clench his fists.

"She bothers you," Kakashi notes.

"Hm."

"You don't bait anyone like that."

"Except me," Naruto interjects.

"Except Naruto."

" _I_ didn't bait—"

"Fine. Not _bait_. But I've seen no one other than Naruto annoy you that much on so short an acquaintance."

"Oi!"

Kakashi rolls his eyes. "Naruto—Sarada said there was a shed around here somewhere. Look for it, and we'll catch up."

The blond boy looks rebellious for a moment, but then snorts. "Fine. But not because you're trying to get rid of me. _Obviously,_ I'm the only one still focussed here. Man, you guys totally hold me back…"

He stalks away.

It's a sign of Sasuke's distraction that he doesn't react to the jab.

Kakashi remains silent as well, waiting to see if the boy will shut down as usual or speak to him since they are now alone. Lately, it's an eighty-twenty gamble.

"There's something about her," Sasuke admits at last. "It's just…not right."

"I see," Kakashi replies, amused. He can't help a chuckle then. "Just be careful." He notes Sasuke's confusion and adds. "Women are complicated at the best of times, but especially those you meet under mysterious circumstances."

Sasuke doesn't understand what he's talking about for a second.

 _Honestly, in certain matters, he's more clueless than Naruto._

When it clicks, he wrinkles his nose in disgust.

"That's not what this is."

"If you say so. Be careful anyway. Wouldn't want to hurt Sakura's feelings too much in one day."

"Why would I…?" Sasuke trails off but stops himself before he falls into the obvious trap Kakashi is laying for him. He scowls at the man. "I don't care about that sort of thing."

And he doesn't.

It distracts from important stuff, like planning his revenge.

Except.

Except it _had_ bothered him, earlier: the idea of Sarada wearing anything with the Uzumaki symbol on it. It's a weird sentiment to have, since he's never felt that toward anyone. Not even Sakura.

 _Actually_ …

Sasuke's fists clench a little at a new unbidden image of the pink-haired girl bundled into Naruto's gaudy orange jacket.

Kakashi is thinking along the same lines. "And that's why you insisted on giving her the shirt off your back, right?"

"No one should be subjected to whatever communicable diseases that thing carries," Sasuke dismisses, evasive.

"Ah."

Sasuke looks away. He must keep his mind clear; to do that, he needs to focus on what he knows.

"I don't trust her," he says, his tone insisting the topic is closed for discussion. "We have to find out the truth about who she is and what she wants."

 _And why she makes me so uneasy._

"In that, you and I agree."

"I can't find anything," Naruto announces, returning once more. "We should go get Sarada and bring her up here. She's rested enough now, right?"

Naruto, who's never had a lasting injury in his life, doesn't understand the condition in which they found the girl. But they do need to press her for a few more details, especially if it could lead them to whatever is causing the strange phenomenon.

"Yes, let's head back."

Scaling the cliff on the way down, predictably, turns into another competition between Sasuke and Naruto. Several times, it looks as if they might lose their footing and plummet the rest of the way. Still, they have come a long way since Kakashi first taught them about chakra control.

They return to the cave to find Sakura arguing with the black-haired girl who is refusing to lie flat.

"I. Don't. Have. _Time_!" she bites out, looking frustrated as Sakura faces her, hands on hips. It's eerie how closely she mirrors her impromptu charge's exasperated expression.

"None of us have time, but we're going to take it!" Sakura snaps. "You'll be useless to everyone if you pass out while we're trying to launch a rescue!"

"I'm useless _here_ because I'm not helping!"

"Oh, so you want to run off without knowing what you're up against? Isn't that what got you thrown off a cliff in the first place?"

"Oh, _sha…eesh_! I thought you were annoying _before_ ¸ but this—"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Girls, this would be the opposite of lying low," Kakashi interrupts, a wary suspicion rearing its head. He's seen how Sakura interacts with her rival, Ino Yamanaka; this spat has too many similarities.

It's obvious what set it off, too.

"Sasuke, you're back!" Sakura chirps, forgetting her fight with the other girl and hurrying over to the Uchiha boy. "Are you okay?"

"Leave me alone," he grumbles, while Naruto whines, "Hey, I'm here too, Sakura!"

Sasuke glowers over at Sarada, and Sakura deflates noting that his attention is _again_ on the new girl.

She's not sure what to make of Sarada, and it doesn't help that her own feelings are in turmoil. The strange girl is so…intimidating. She's conscious despite what has to be an excruciating wound, she's keeping herself coherent even though her fever is growing, and she's apparently really strong.

 _If Lady Tsunade already took on another student, there's no way she'll be interested in me. What's the point of even asking?_

And then, on top of all that, every male on Sakura's team is making a fuss over Sarada. Kakashi studies her like she's an interesting riddle, a welcome challenge in the wake of their latest string of boring mission work. Even _Sasuke_ has crawled out of his shell to acknowledge her.

It's bewildering because Sakura's never seen that. At least back home, Sasuke ignores every other girl as much as he ignores her. Well, he ignores her less, but that's only because she's his teammate and he's obligated to pay attention to her.

A fact she appreciates, in particular when she gets to see a side of him none of the other girls get to see.

Until now, maybe.

Sasuke marches up to Sarada. "There was nothing up there. Either you're lying about what happened to you, or someone moved your teammates' bodies while you were unconscious."

"Tact is not your strongpoint," Kakashi sighs as whatever colour was in Sarada's cheeks drains.

"No!" she cries out angrily and abruptly shoves her face into her good hand.

It's an odd move, he thinks, considering she doesn't seem the sort to burst into tears. Then again, she has been through a lot. She is slow to raise her head again, rubbing at her eyes like she's trying to get rid of something. His first guess is tears, except when she looks up her eyes are dry and—although pained—more determined than ever.

"Boruto is stronger than that," she states, leaving no room for argument. "He wouldn't get caught or die so easy. And Mitsuki, and our teacher—the Ghost-Man said he was more interested in asking questions. If you can't find them up there, I bet he took them."

"Or he disposed the bodies while you were out of commission," Sasuke maintains.

"If he cared about bodies, he would have come down to clean up mine after killing me," she shoots back. "He didn't bother! And trust me, if he wanted to, Ma—m-my _bodyguard_ here wouldn't be strong enough to keep him away!"

"Hey!" Sakura snaps, insulted. She wants to reach over and throttle the black-eyed girl. Even more so when Sarada shoots her a disappointed grimace; as if she's the offended party in this situation.

"If you can't find my teammates up there, he most likely took them," Sarada concludes.

"But where?" Naruto asks.

"Probably Orochimaru's hideout."

Everyone goes silent now. Sakura and Sasuke still, as if turned to stone, and Naruto's fist clenches in anger.

"Orochimaru…" Kakashi repeats, careful to keep his tone level. "He has a hideout near here?"

"Yeah…that's what Mitsuki thought, anyway," Sarada says, voice meek, like she senses she's said something wrong.

"Funny how you didn't mention this before," Sasuke growls.

"I didn't know it was important!"

"One of Konoha's major enemies—a rogue ninja—has a hideout on the outskirts of the village, and you don't think it's important?" Sakura demands.

"But… But it's been abandoned for decades. Why would he…"

"And how do you know that?" Naruto wants to know.

"Chakra signatures," she says, looking and sounding like she's trying to backtrack. "They were too faint for it to be a recent hiding spot."

"You're lying," Sasuke states. "There was nothing up there."

"Then you weren't looking hard enough!"

"I was looking hard. There was no shed or hideout or anything like you described. Which means you've been lying this whole time!"

"Then he put wards or another genjutsu on the place because it's up there! You're just too useless to see it!" Sarada yells, an edge of panic and frustration in every word. Sasuke's eye twitches—no one has ever called _him_ useless before and Naruto is inordinately pleased. "You're wasting everyone's time asking stupid questions instead of looking for my teammates, _shaa-ah-eh-_ eesh!"

Sasuke regards the girl with suspicion, and it hits him then.

She reminds him of Sasuke.

A lot.

Not just in the way she focusses uwaveringly on her goals and anger, either. Now that he thinks about it, they share similar features. It's not something either would notice themselves—a person rarely notices what they look like compared to others—but as an outsider, he has. That makes him equal parts suspicious and uneasy, especially given Orochimaru's involvement.

There is every possibility that this girl is a test subject, the same way Kakashi's old subordinate, Tenzō, was.

The Sannin bit Sasuke back in the Forest of Death, which means he got blood samples from the boy. He also tangled with Tsunade before she returned to become the Hokage. Given his reputation for conducting experiments, it's not so farfetched to think he might've used their genes to create a…hybrid or something. In which case, there might be even more to this girl than what they have so far discovered.

"If there is a hideout here, we have no choice," Kakashi declares at last. If it involves Orochimaru, they need Sasuke to be as far away as possible. And Naruto, as well. "Lady Tsunade needs to know if Orochimaru is this close. We have to inform her."

"You go do that."

"We wouldn't be leaving you here."

Complicated as things are at the moment, they should keep the girl close. There are too many unanswered questions to leave her here. Not to mention, he still hasn't figured out whether she is connected to the strange bubble in which he and his team have found themselves. It doesn't make the potential involvement of Orochimaru any less of a concern. And Sarada—whether or not she's a sleeper agent of some sort—is enough of a mystery that Kakashi intends to keep her in his sight.

Not that he tells her this.

"You're wounded," he says. "And from your story, there's at least one dangerous criminal in these woods. You won't stand a chance in your current condition. The hospital in the village will do a better job of fixing you than I did."

 _And if I can wrangle a visit from someone from Intelligence to conduct a more in-depth interrogation, we might get a few more answers out of you._

"But Kakashi-sensei, I thought you said—"

"No!" Sarada interrupts Sakura's objection. "I have to find my teammates! I am not leaving this forest until I know they're all right."

"He didn't say you had to be conscious for us to bring you back," Sakura remarks in would-be-innocence.

Sarada shoots her an incomprehensible look, comprising several contradictory emotions–confusion, disbelief, defiance, and oddly enough, betrayal—and then sets her jaw.

"Fine."

Before anyone can marvel about her backing down, there is a small _pop_ , and a log appears in the spot where she just sat.

" _Kawarimi_!" Sakura gasps. "I didn't even see her weave any signs!"

 _Neither did I_ , Kakashi muses, going over the last few minutes in his head. The only opportunity she might have had to summon the substitute was when she hid her face. Everyone was watching and waiting for her slip up when she spoke; no one was paying attention to what her other hand was doing. She must have woven the signs with her injured hand, despite the immense pain.

 _But I still should have noticed that. Unless… she could have cast a genjutsu on top of it._

He's had his Sharigan covered since they returned to the bottom of the cliff, and if it was subtle enough, perhaps…

"Everyone fan out," he says, troubled. "We need to find her."

 _Who the hell is this girl?_

ナルト

Sarada's ruined fingers throb in angry recrimination for her stupid stunt, but she doesn't have time to break down and cry.

The world blurs past as she runs; her only thought is to get away, to leave the impossible people behind her and find her way back to her own teammates…if that's even a choice. She's not quite sure. The past hour has been a confusing blur of the inexplicable and downright unsettling. There's a creeping fear that the reason her father— _no! Sasuke!—_ and _Kakashi_ couldn't find her team is that they aren't even in this _time_.

 _None of this makes sense—not that time travel makes sense, but still!_

She tries not to dwell too much on the surreal nature of her circumstances.

All that matters right now is that she finds her friends, stops the ghost—man—creature—that hurt them, and fixes everything so she doesn't mess up the future. Or the past. She's not sure which anymore.

All she knows is she can't risk putting the people she cares about in danger.

It hit her before as she stared up at the distrustful faces of her parents and uncles. This time—or the time they're from—is long before they were the heroes of the ninja world.

Kakashi might be a skilled jōnin now, but he isn't the Hokage who helped defend the world against the dead in the Fourth Great Shinobi War. He hasn't seen the unbelievable yet. He probably imagines time travel is something out of a book.

Naruto looks like he has trouble not tripping over his own feet, let alone forming a Rasengan.

And her parents' younger selves—

Sasuke is far from the dimension-travelling, Susanoo-wielding hero of her time. He looks peaky, like using the Sharingan takes the same toll on him as it does on her. His hair sticks up weirdly and that ugly scowl of his appears to be a permanent fixture.

Sakura is even less like herself—based on her bearing and the thinness of her limbs, she has developed none of the lean muscle Sarada is used to her having.

Or any of the strength Sarada associates with her.

The legendary heroes of the Fourth Shinobi War are at the weakest she has ever seen them. If she gets them involved in this mission, they could get hurt.

Or worse, killed.

Aside from not wanting to lose her loved ones, their deaths could change the entire course of history. The logical solution is to stay far away from them.

Then there's the fact they don't trust her and are, likely, convinced she's a spy. Which is sort of her own faultm but trying to skirt the truth is harder when it's someone (or several someones) who know her well.

Even if they technically don't know her well _yet_.

 _Ugh, I'm getting a headache! And that's not the probable concussion talking, either! That Ghost-Man will have answers. I_ must _find him_ , she decides even as her stomach wobbles at the idea.

She's getting weaker.

That last substitution did a number on her. In fact, she's surprised she kept it up as long as she did, in particular after surviving the fall.

It looks like she's stored more chakra than she realised. Her heart twinges sadly.

 _Mama, I owe you so much_.

She misses her mother—the strong one who would never have let herself be left behind and could heal anyone in an instant. The younger version of Sakura is as much a disappointment as the younger version of Sasuke.

Reaching the base of the cliff, Sarada calls up her remaining chakra and takes a run at it.

To her gratification, the balls of her feet stick and she's able to scale the rock face.

 _Yes!_

She prays her luck will hold a little longer, just enough to get to the top of the bluff. The long way around isn't a choice, not when her pursuers might stop her before she gets too far.

That choice looks better about halfway up the cliff. One of her steps isn't charged with enough chakra, or the level isn't balanced right. Whatever the reason, instead of pushing herself higher, her foot slips and skids against the rock.

"No!" she yells, flapping out with her uninjured arm. Her fingers scrape and scrabble for purchase, but it eludes her. Before she can do anything about it, she is plummeting once more toward the ground.

Only this time, there's no way she can save herself from the impact.

Sarada scrunches her eyes closed, bracing for the overwhelming agony—

But instead of hitting the merciless ground again, she finds someone's arms wrapping around her. There's a flash of orange and a solid chest cushions her back, shielding her as they continue to plummet.

They hit solid earth. There's a _pop_ sound and then she's alone on the ground.

Sarada can't help keening in pain as her entire frame shudders. The impact is less than she was expecting, but it still feels like her skeleton fell into a grinder. After the stars clear from her head, courtesy of the painful jolt to her arm, she turns to see the intent expression of Lord Seventh—Naruto.

"Are you okay?" he asks, crouching over her.

Equal parts fluster and panic cause her to lash out, shoving herself away. It is so forceful that she throws him into the rocky wall behind her.

"Hey!" he cries as he hits it, a tiny crater forming where his back connects. Then he disappears.

A shadow clone.

Damn it, she didn't mean to hit him that hard, and—her legs buckle—she may have just called upon the last of her strength. In fact, as she turns to find any escape blocked by her parents, the real Naruto, and Kakashi, she knows she has.

Her knees hit the ground.

"That was stupid," Kakashi tells her, both his eyes trained on her. His Sharingan is uncovered and active which makes the penetrating intensity of his normal stare even more potent.

Sarada shivers, experiencing a spark of fear from the man. The way he's looking at her now, it's the same as he looked at her and the rest of her Academy class during their graduation final. No, this look is worse—colder; the way he might look at an enemy ninja. This Kakashi is not the man she has distant memories of allowing her to pain his fingernails green or building sand-castles with her in the park as a toddler.

This is the former ANBU captain, an elite ninja used to forcing answers out of his opponents.

"I didn't have a choice," she protests, trying to hold on to the last of her strength. It's slipping away like sand from a clenched fist. "You're trying to take me back to Konoha. I can't… I can't go back there right now."

 _Not least of all because it might not be_ my _Konoha_.

"There's no excuse. You won't be of use to anyone, especially if you make such rash decisions," he tells her. There's a strained note in his voice telling her he's trying to stay even-tempered. "As your superior, I have a responsibility to keep everyone here safe. You included."

"Don't pretend like you're concerned. I can tell you don't trust me," Sarada snaps. "You think I'm a spy or something, or—or working for Orochimaru! And no matter what I say, even if it's the complete truth, you won't believe it, anyway!"

"You haven't given us any reason to trust you yet," Sakura points out. "Even before you took off."

"Whatever holes in your story you hoped we wouldn't notice, you made them more unbelievable when you made a run for it," Sasuke agrees.

"I couldn't care less if you believe me! That's so not important right now!" Sarada insists. "All that matters is that I find my friends which I can't do if you take me back to the village!"

"You just want to avoid taking a trip to the Intelligence Division."

Bile rises in Sarada's throat at that threat.

From the stories she's heard, Ibiki Morino was a much harder interrogator back in her parents' youth than he is now. And if Auntie Ino's father is even close to as talented as she is…

There's a flash of triumph across Sasuke's face as if he sees her uneasiness at the idea. A deeply buried part of her—the part that never really forgave him for being absent her entire childhood—flares to the surface.

 _I won't give you the satisfaction of scaring me!_

"I don't want to, but if that's what it takes, fine!" she declares, tossing her hair even though the movement makes her stomach lurch in protest. "But I'm not going with you until I find out where my team went. And if you force me to come with you, I'll…I'll bite off my tongue and kill myself!" The threat is over the top and even they know this, but she's hitting a point of desperation. Their expressions don't change, so she tries one last thing because she's sure she will knock herself out from mental overexertion soon. "Lo—Kakashi- _sensei_! You of all people should understand why I can't go back to Konoha right now!"

His eyebrow raises incrementally—a question.

"I've heard you say it before," she insists. "Those who break the rules are called scum. But…if you don't value your comrades, you're worse than scum!'" He tenses at this, and even his students exchange looks of suspicion for surprise. Sarada feels tears of frustration welling up in her eyes. "I have to save them because it could be so much worse than them just being missing!"

 _Hold on—don't let the Sharingan show_ ¸ she cautions herself, even though she doesn't think she has the energy to call it up right now.

"Wow, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto remarks, surprised. "I've never heard anyone but you say that before."

The jōnin is staring at her now as if he desperately wants to ask something but isn't sure how or what.

 _Welcome to my world. This day just keeps throwing things at me, and I don't know how to deal with them!_

She swallows, trying to keep the tremble from her voice. "Those are my friends out there, and I refuse to abandon them."

Her luck being as bad as it is today, this is about the time her limbs goes boneless.

 _No! I can't pass out again!_ Sarada commands herself in desperation, trying to force her uninjured hand out to break her fall, but she can't muster the energy.

To her surprise, she still doesn't hit the ground.

Once again, someone catches her in their arms, but this time it's a more familiar embrace, albeit it's much less secure than usual.

 _He even smells the same_ ¸ she realises, gazing up at Sasuke in dim bewilderment. He looks just as surprised to have caught hold of her—as if his body moved on his own. Then there's a cool hand on her forehead, and Sakura is looming close again. "She's got a fever. I don't think your healing jutsu did enough, Kakashi-sensei—"

"Or the jog up the mountain she decided on undid everything," Naruto grumbles.

"—I bet there's infection in the arm."

"I was afraid of that," Kakashi admits. He gives Sarada a stern frown. "You depleted your chakra trying to climb that cliff, which also hasn't done you any favours."

"We have to get her help as soon as possible," Sakura says, hesitating like she knows her suggestions is unwelcome. "Konoha might not be close enough."

"The hideout," Naruto says. "Orochimaru likes labs, right? He's a scientist. Even if he's not there anymore, he might have left medical supplies. And maybe there's a…a place to help her."

"That's actually a decent idea," Sasuke says, somehow making a compliment sound like a criticism. "If she's going to stay in stable enough condition to answer any more questions or stop whatever's going on, we need to keep her alive. Besides, it can't hurt to look around. More information for us to bring back to the village."

Naruto gapes at him. "You've never said so much in one go. Are you feeling okay?"

"Shut up, moron."

Kakashi comes to a decision.

"All right. Spy or not, we can't stick around here. We'll head for the hideout."

"But if you didn't see it while you were up there, what makes you think you'll see it now?" Sakura protests.

"Sarada will point it out to us. Won't you?"

"But we can't trust her to tell us the truth about anything else! You figure she'll be honest about that? For all we know, it may be a trap!"

"Hey!" Sarada protests weakly, more than a little hurt. Her mother has never distrusted her before, and even if this girl isn't her yet, it's a discomfiting experience.

"It might be, yes, but our options are limited right now. Besides, I have some insurance," Kakashi says, pulling a scroll out from his pack and raising his thumb to his masked mouth. There's the sound of teeth clicking and then blood blossoms at the tip of his thumb. He presses it to the parchment, and there's a puff of smoke.

As it clears, a small brown dog appears.

 _Pakkun_! Sarada recognises, although the dog is considerably less grey than the summons she's seen in her time.

"Yo, Kakashi," he greets.

"I need you to head to the village and deliver this to the Hokage," Kakashi tells him, skipping the greeting. He removes a second, smaller scroll from his pack, adding a few shorthand notes to it before passing it to the dog. "There are a few vital bits of information she and whatever team she sends will require."

"Got it," Pakkun grunts, taking the scroll into his mouth.

"Sakura, you can head back as well if you want—"

"No way!" Sakura cries. "I'm not going anywhere! Especially not now! I don't leave my team behind either!"

For the first time since waking up, Sarada sees a flash of her mother's attitude in this girl.

It's a startling comfort.

A comfort which disappears a moment later when Sakura trains a cool, distrustful gaze on her. There's a subtle narrowing of her eyes that Sarada has only seen right before her mother prepares to demolish a building.

And it's directed at her.

 _Well this…is probably not good_ ¸ Sarada decides, swallowing heavily.

つづく

* * *

 _Arata Sarutobi is an OC…sort of. I mean, we all know Konohamaru has a father, he just hasn't been named in the anime. So I gave him a name. Thought I'd let you guys know, because people keep sending confused comments when I put an OC in here. I'll take it as a compliment if I can make you think my OCs are canon, though :D_

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	8. Chapter Six

Pakkun disappears with the scroll and a message for Tsunade to create a quarantine zone around the bubble. Sarada is not sure how much use that will be, but she supposes in Kakashi's place she would do the same.

Sarada studies him, anxious, and imagines the thoughts going through his head.

Whatever this version of him might pretend to his students, he is not at ease with the idea of heading into a potential trap. A search for a _nukanin_ 's hideout is bad enough. Doing so because there may or may not be a homicidal lunatic keeping one of the village's squads captive complicates things even more.

 _And they'll be travelling with a stranger they know isn't being honest with them,_ Sarada reflects. Any other shinobi would order his squad to bring her back to the village and then carry out further investigations himself. Thankfully—in a left-handed way—she needs medical attention now, and not in the half-day it would take to bring her back.

Sasuke helps Sarada to her feet, an expression on his face like he isn't quite sure what to do now that they are both standing. That expression becomes more pronounced when she sways on her feet and falls back against him.

 _You think you're weirded out by this?_ Sarada wants to ask him. _I think I might be taller than you right now!_ That's _weird!_

"Here's the deal," Kakashi's voice breaks her out of her thoughts, his tone leaving no room for argument. "We are investigating this place out of no other reason than medical aid. We're not about to go scouting the entire area looking for your squad. Our focus has to be on stopping whatever this chakra phenomena is doing. But if we _do_ come across your squad in the hideout—"

"Everyone wins," she concludes faintly, swallowing.

"Exactly. But if we find nothing, there will come a point where we revisit the issue. And I won't tolerate any more protests from you if we have to return to Konoha."

Sarada frowns, but she doesn't argue; it's the best she can manage now.

"I'll take you. I'm less likely to drop you on the way up," he says, earning a scowl from Sasuke. Though he's made clear his distrust of Sarada, he doesn't like any insinuation that he is weak.

Kakashi strides forward and takes Sasuke's place, hefting Sarada into his arms. He is mindful of her arm as he and the rest of his squad head up the cliffs, and without entirely meaning to, Sarada relaxes into him. Past or present, this is Lord Sixth— _Uncle Kakashi_ —and her mother raised her to feel safe with him.

The way up is fast, and almost comfortable the way he shields her in his arms. She senses him checking on her every few seconds and notes a confusion in his eye he can't quite hide. She supposes she can understand that.

Generally, a ninja being captured or transported by a potential enemy is more prone to fighting, not going boneless in their arms. Twice he looks like he wants to ask her something, but doesn't.

Behind them, Sakura suddenly trips against the cliff face, and Sasuke reaches out the steady her.

"You're supposed to have better chakra control than me," he chides, letting go of her as soon as she gets her footing. "Pay attention."

He continues on as if nothing happened, trailing Kakashi and keeping his eye firmly on Sarada. He's not the only one. Sakura glares in her direction, more pointedly this time, and Sarada hides her face in Kakashi's chest.

 _Mama's scary, even when she was my age!_

Once everyone arrives at the top, Kakashi manoeuvres Sarada to her feet. She wobbles a little when he sets her down, and Sarada shivers a bit. Sakura, watching her as closely as she is, notices and her face smooths from suspicious glare to a frown of concern.

She stalks toward her.

"Kakashi-sensei, her pupils are dilated," she tells him. "That's not a good sign, right?"

"No, it's not," he agrees.

"Then we need to find this hideout as soon as possible," she announces. At least she's able to put aside her dislike in the field and remember her first-aid training. "The sooner we get some strong antibiotics into her system, the better."

"Or we could amputate the arm," Sasuke suggests. "That is the standard field procedure."

Sarada opens her mouth to protest, then snaps it shut again. She snorts and mutters under her breath, "This explains so much about you…"

She isn't silent enough, though, because Naruto guffaws, and Sasuke looks like he's not sure whether he should be insulted. Rather than dwell on it too much, he looks around the area he and Kakashi searched earlier. "So, where's this hideout you were talking about?"

Sarada looks around, reorienting herself, and then points at a pile of felled trees and rotted logs. "There it is."

Sasuke stares beyond her finger but sees nothing. "There's nothing there."

"That's because there's another genjutsu ward on it," she tells him, unable to hide the know-it-all tone that laces her words. "There was one before."

"One only you can sense?" he challenges.

Sarada makes a face at him, but Sakura takes a few steps forward and says, " _Kai_!"

Everyone follows suit and the area warps to show a burrow, like something made by a snake, only it's concrete. It's ringed by leaves and bushes, but very clearly sticks out as a man-made structure.

"We should have brought Sakura up with us before and left _you_ to watch Sarada," Naruto sniggers. "She's better at sensing genjutsu than you are, asshole."

Sakura turns pink and shuffles her feet. "No, I…I didn't notice it, either. Not until Sarada pointed it out. Sorry."

"What are you apologising about?" Sasuke grumbles. "If Kakashi didn't notice it, and he's a jōnin, what chance did you have? I'm more interested in finding out why _Sarada_ can see it, but none of us can."

Three pairs of eyes shift from him to Sarada.

"Yeah, that is kinda weird," Naruto muses, adopting a thoughtful expression like he's trying to pretend he's caught on but hasn't. "Do you have some kind of secret ability or something?"

Sarada experience a shot of panic. "I—"

"No, that isn't it," Kakashi answers. "I believe it's something to do with where we are. The bubble. Things are different in here. It's possible genjutsu affects us more because we're not from inside."

"Instead of getting the after-image, we get the full reality," Sasuke suggests.

"Right."

"So, she can sense it easier because she's from here?" Sakura guesses, relieved.

"That makes sense," Sarada considers, voice faint. "My sensei talked about portals and space-time ninjutsu. In theory, people from different dimensions can perceive the different layers of reality. It's what makes it impossible to travel through them unless you have a specific, inherited ability. That's why he suggested we get in contact with…"

She trails off when she catches sight of Kakashi's face.

"There are only a few people who would come to that kind of conclusion," he tells her quietly. "Arata Sarutobi isn't one of them."

Confusion fills her, followed by another growing sense of panic as she realises her carefully crafted lie is about to fall apart.

"What's the full name of your sensei, Sarada?" Kakashi asks her, his tone leaving no room for argument.

She swallows, uncomfortable. "I…I can't tell you."

"Can't?"

"Won't," Sasuke accuses.

"Shouldn't," she corrects. "It isn't a good idea. You guys shouldn't know more than you already do."

"As I outrank you at the moment, let me be the judge of that," Kakashi tells her, tone severe. "We can figure out what to do afterward."

Sarada studies him for a long spell, a million arguments and counter-arguments running through her mind. But the way he looks at her now, determined but patient, she can't help still feel her instinctive trust. Whatever she says, he will try to fix the problem.

She nods and exhales.

"Alright," she determined, squaring her shoulders, and then wincing when the movement jars her injury. "It's not like you guys will let it go anyway, so my teacher…his name is Konohamaru."

The silence that follows that statement is almost comical. Predictably, Naruto is the one to break it.

"Whaaat?" he demands, bursting into incredulous laughter. "That's impossible! Why would you be following that little brat around? I know for a fact he's not that great because he's my apprentice!"

"…in idiocy alone," Sasuke mutters.

"You guys, shut up," Sakura orders, brows drawn together as she tries to make sense of the information Sarada has presented to them.

Kakashi is frowning. "Konohamaru Sarutobi?"

"Yes."

"The Third Hokage's grandson."

"Yes."

"How old is your Konohamaru?"

"I don't remember. Older than me. He's a jōnin."

Naruto sniggers. "Then we can't be talking about the same guy! Unless he's some clumsy guy running around with his scarf around his ankles. I mean, what idiot would make that kid a jōnin?"

"Uh…" She has the bizarre urge to laugh. "The Hokage?"

"And who's that?"

"You asked me that already. Lady Tsunade."

"Yes, she's _our_ Hokage," Kakashi allows with deliberate patience. "But she's not the Hokage where you come from, is she?"

Sarada averts her gaze. "No. Not since before I was born."

It takes a few seconds for her meaning to become plain.

Sasuke's eyes widen. "Wait. Are you saying—"

"This girl is—" Sakura interrupts.

"What?" Naruto demands, not getting it. "What is she?"

"Somehow—as hard as it is to believe—Sarada is from the future," Kakashi pronounces, ignoring the disbelieving stares of his students. His eyes are thoughtful, and she bets he is revisiting everything she has said or done since their interaction, trying to see how he didn't understand earlier.

And to find out if there's anything she's said since they met that might be dangerous.

"No way!" Naruto cries. "That's impossible!"

"No, it's not," Sasuke counters. "It's like I said earlier, this place looks like two separate spaces are stuck together. Only it's not space, it's time. It's our time and her time."

"The bubble!" Sakura exclaims. "We went through the bubble and— _oh_! It's us who travelled in time, not Sarada!"

Naruto whips his head around, looking at his surroundings as if seeing them for the first time. "What, seriously? You mean right now, we're in the future? No way! But everything looks so normal!"

"It's only been about twenty years. What did you expect, flying cars?" Sarada mutters.

"Flying what?"

Everyone looks puzzled by this comment.

"Oh. You don't have cars yet," Sarada realises. "Oops?"

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Sakura demands.

"I didn't think it would be a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because she knows us in the future—am I right?" Kakashi suggests.

"Yeah."

"Everything that happens to us from now until—well, twenty or so years from now, you said?"

"Yes."

"So what? How is that dangerous for us?" Naruto questions. "It sounds like it would be handy."

"Oh, lots of metaphysical and philosophical reasons you wouldn't understand," Kakashi dismisses, earning unimpressed glares from his students. "But let me try with an example: say Sarada knows us all twenty years in the future."

"Okay."

"As of this moment, we know that in twenty years' time, we'll all be alive. So, our future selves have, in theory, survived every mission, every surprise attack, every possible accident or disease until then."

"Hey, that's pretty cool!"

"Maybe. Or maybe it's just dangerous. Because with that logic, knowing we all get to live at least that long, certain members of this squad might get reckless on a mission," Kakashi continues. "Someone might decide, 'Hey, I can't die because I'm alive in the future, so I'll throw myself into dangerous situations because I'm invincible.' And then get killed."

Kakashi stares in Naruto and Sasuke's direction. The Uchiha boy makes an amused noise. "He's looking at you, idiot."

Naruto shoots him a glare. "Nuh-uh, he's totally looking at you!"

"Shut up!" Sakura shouts, reaching out to hit Naruto in the back of the head, but he ducks just in time.

"In any case," Kakashi continues, raising his voice and forcing their attention back on him, "before you know it, someone's taken out that nameless person because he isn't paying attention. Then the whole future changes."

"You're assuming time is a strictly linear progression," Sakura points out, brow wrinkling in thought. "But you said yourself there are parallel dimensions. How do we know this isn't one of those situations?"

"We don't." Kakashi admits. "But of the two options, it's safest for us to assume it's linear." He addresses Sarada. "You acted as you should have done. I apologise for forcing you to tell us, but now that I understand what you were hiding, we can avoid any in-depth questions."

"It would have come out eventually," she sighs.

"This information changes things, though. We need to move fast. We have to figure out how to stop this…time phenomenon so, when we leave here, the future stays put."

"And we have to find Konohamaru," Naruto pipes up, "because even if he's from the future, he's still my student—"

"He's not your student. he's just some kid who follows you around so you can teach him perverted jutsu," Sakura grumbles.

"He's a potentially lucrative hostage," Kakashi interrupts. "Past or future, the Sarutobi clan would be a valuable fount of information for an enemy. So, now he—and anyone he's with—are part of the mission."

"About time you thought so!" Sarada declares, although the suspicious lump in her throat takes a little of the bite from her words.

"All right!" Naruto cheers. "Let's go!"

"…Down into the creepy hole in the ground that's probably infested with rats and snakes and homicidal maniacs," Sakura mutters under her breath. "Oh, sure, in no way is this a bad idea."

Sakura's uncharacteristic sarcasm is punctuated by a short chuckle from Sasuke.

Sarada swallows.

She isn't a person who believes in omens, but if _this_ Sasuke is cracking a smile, bad things must be about to happen.

The descent into the abandoned hideout is slow and careful. As determined as Sarada is to find her squad and deal with her arm, she doesn't blame Kakashi for taking his time. Even if this place didn't belong to that weirdo Orochimaru, there's something about heading underground that seems biologically counterintuitive.

The entire place is pitch black, but by calling up the Sharingan just before it manifests itself fully, Sarada's vision sharpens. Still, she accepts one of the standard issue glow sticks Kakashi cracks open and hands to her, Sakura, and Naruto. No one comments on him and Sasuke not needing them.

Unlit torches line the damp walls and water trickles down from tiny crevices. Their footsteps echo as they move and, occasionally, there's a crumbling noise when someone steps on what Sarada suspects might be animal bones.

"Rats," Sakura mutters, confirming those suspicions. "Ugh. Is there anything more disgusting?"

"Whatever ate the rats," Sasuke replies, unconcerned.

Sakura shudders so violently that, even in the dark, it's noticeable.

"Forget rats, do you _smell_ that?" Naruto complains.

Sarada can't sense anything beyond the earthy dampness, but Naruto is the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon. He might have sharper olfactory senses than any of them, even at such a young age.

"None of you seem to understand the concept of stealth," Kakashi grumbles.

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto and Sakura chorus, and Sarada resists the urge to smack herself in the forehead.

 _This is the legendary Team 7? How did they survive to adulthood?_

But she can't help the tiny smile that forms.

Despite the pressing nature of everything happening right now, she isn't stupid enough to squander her unexpected opportunity. The chance to get to know her parents and uncles as they once were is the sort of impossible wish she's harboured since she was little. Even if the charm has worn off when it comes to her father. At first interaction, he just seems so…

 _Antisocial and misanthropic_ , she decides after a few seconds.

Since meeting him, she's seen him go through more mood changes than her mother. That's an accomplishment, considering Auntie Ino is always talking about how Mama appears to have two spirits in her.

Sarada's father is someone she has always sought approval from because she wants him to be proud of her. She still wants approval from him now, but in a different sense. It's almost competitive, like she wants to prove that she is as good—or better—than he was at this age.

That fact makes understanding the younger version of Naruto a lot easier, too.

From what she's observed, the blond boy is frustrated and impatient. He strives for his self-appointed rival to approve of him, wants his female teammate to notice him, and yearns for his teacher to be proud of him.

 _That last bit is just like Boruto_ , she realises in surprise.

At last she sees the similarity between her teammate and his father. Both have the same drive to prove themselves. While Lord Seventh isn't so overt about it anymore, the kid he is now seems to run on bluster alone, instead of actual aptitude. Sarada always imagined the great Naruto Uzumaki was born talented. Perhaps not the best at everything, like he always brags, or a genius like her father, but a natural talent at least.

 _It turns out, he's a bit of a goofball_ , Sarada decides as the boy steps in something that goes _squish_. He then makes a big production of trying to wipe it off his foot, earning hisses of protest and warning from his teammates.

"Idiot! Knock it off!"

"Naruto, stop it! You'll get it on me!"

"Sorry, Sakura. I was aiming for him."

"Like that's any better!"

"Come near me, and I'll kill you."

Sarada can't help the giggle that escapes her then.

 _They're all goofballs_ , she decides, feeling a little lightheaded at the realisation.

She shakes her head and picks up her pace. The light feeling doesn't go away though. Then, the world tilts, and Sarada staggers. Her knees threaten to give out beneath her and it's only Kakashi's steadying hand on her uninjured shoulder that keeps her upright.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah. I'm just… The world is a bit spinny," she answers, frowning at the imprecise word.

"Can you keep going?"

"Of course I can!" she protests, taking a few determined steps forward. That she must concentrate is not lost on Kakashi.

"One of you, carry her," he orders his genin squad. "All the moving around is aggravating her injury."

Sasuke sighs. "I guess I—"

"—can do it!" Naruto declares.

There is a beat, and they glare at each other.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Sakura snarls, pushing both boys away before they can come to blows. "I'll do it. I bet you two would drop her down a tunnel or something, trying to compete with each other."

Kakashi opens his mouth like he wants to protest, but Sakura picks Sarada up like she weighs nothing. Sarada gives an undignified squeak even though Sakura holds her without even jostling her injured arm.

The rest of her squad stares at her in surprise.

"What?" Sakura barks. "Do you guys realise how many times you've ended up unconscious, and I had to carry you?"

Naruto and Kakashi have the decency to look embarrassed.

 _Go Mama_! Sarada cheers inwardly. Perhaps she was too hasty earlier, thinking her mother was that different from the strong woman of the future.

"Good point," Naruto chuckles. "But you've had to carry Sasuke more than me, right?"

"Tch." Sasuke folds his arms and looks away.

"We have to find a way of treating her, soon," Sakura goes on, marching ahead. Then she pauses and turns back to the others, chuckling nervously. "Um…where are we going? This place is confusing."

"Leave that to me," Kakashi says, bringing out his summoning scroll again. A flourish of blood and smoke later, a tan dog with sunglasses materialises. "Akino. We need a helping hand—or nose, rather. Is there an infirmary somewhere around here? It'll smell like antiseptic and—"

"This place smells like death," Akino grumps, eying the corridor where he has found himself. "It's mostly empty, but…"

"But what?"

"Like I said, boss, it smells like death." Akino's muzzle wrinkles, and he bares his teeth in disgust. "Rotting bodies."

Kakashi looks grim. "Kabuto's handiwork."

 _Kabuto? Kabuto Yakushi? But isn't he the one who runs the Konoha Orphanage_ …?

"I don't think this was such a good idea, after all," Sakura says, swallowing. "What if…what if there's something still alive around here?"

"Are you kidding?" Naruto cries. "First, we get to travel in time, now we might get to face the walking dead? This day is turning out to be so cool!"

Sarada rolls her eyes.

 _He thinks it's all a game. Definitely like Boruto…_

"You have an overactive imagination," Akino tells him then turns away. "Well, come on. The sooner we find this place, the sooner I can clean my nostrils out."

They fall into a standard guard formation, Akino at the front, followed by Kakashi and Naruto; Sasuke walks behind Sakura and Sarada, no doubt keeping an eye on threats that might crop up from the rear.

As the group treks through the dank, underground hall, Sarada fights the temptation to doze off against Sakura's shoulder. The pain in her arm is making her loopy, and the fever and chills don't help. And then there is being so close to her mother-to-be, which is deceptively comforting. Sarada can't help but believe that everything will be all right.

 _Stay awake_ , she commands herself. She's been unconscious way too often today and refuses to succumb to sleep again.

Not that she could—Naruto is filling the silence with nervous chatter.

"…what I don't get? If Sarada got attacked when she and her squad got close to this place why weren't we attacked when we got close?"

"And why aren't we being attacked now?" Sakura adds.

"No doubt we triggered a ward," Sasuke suggests. "We know there was a genjutsu protecting the entrance. There would be others."

"And…and maybe that ghost was so busy dragging everyone back to wherever the hell he came from, he hasn't had time to put them up again," Naruto guesses. Then he groans. "But that means he's probably going to coming looking for us, right?"

"It's not certain," Kakashi says. "If he's using _Hiraishin_ , or any variation, he's using a lot of chakra. He will need time to recover, especially if he's using it to cover great distances."

"Or all of this is speculation, and she's luring us into a trap," Sasuke points out.

Sarada tries to glare at him over Sakura's shoulder. "I can hear you, you know."

The tunnels are narrow, curving, and seemingly endless. Sarada suspects that without Akino to guide them, they would be lost. Still, it's fifteen minutes before he leads them into a corridor that opens into an actual chamber. Kakashi fumbles with something on a wall; there's a _click_ and a hum of electricity in the air. The room gradually becomes lighter.

The shiver that creeps up Sarada's spine has nothing to do with her fever.

That they have reached a laboratory is more than obvious from first glance. The place is furnished with sterile, metal tables and row upon row of shelves. A sharp, too-clean odour permeates the entire area which, despite its pungent nature, doesn't quite dispel the underlying scent of old blood, urine and other bodily fluids.

Vials and instruments line the countertops. All the surgical tools appear to be in pristine condition, even though they lie abandoned, as if waiting for someone to return and pick them up again. The floor is immaculate but for the layer of dust which suggests no one has been here in years.

Everything else is meticulously, impossibly clean.

Except…

Except, when she squints, Sarada can see dried flecks of blood that have seeped too deep into the crevices of the floor and walls for conventional cleaning to erase. And most worrying of all is the closed, steel door at the other end of the hall. Beyond it, Sarada can hear muffled thumps and an odd rumbling noise, like gears scraping.

"I…don't think this place is very safe," she comments. "Are we sure there's no _other_ scary lab where we can work?"

"Kid, I just about burned my nose hairs off finding you this place," the ninja dog snarks.

"And on that note, thanks," Kakashi says. "We won't need you to get out again. I've marked our trail back."

"See ya, boss!"

There's a puff of smoke, and he disappears.

"Come on. Let's do this and get out as soon as possible," Sakura says, shuddering. "I doubt we'll find anywhere safer than this. And at least we already know it's creepy."

"Put her down on the table over there," Kakashi orders. "I need help to get the right treatment together. Naruto, Sasuke—keep an eye out for danger. I doubt there is such thing as a safe place down here."

Everyone scatters, and Sarada has to content herself with lying back on the cold slab of metal. She fights off the growing urge to vomit. Without a specific task to focus on, it's harder to ignore her condition.

There's another odd grinding sound from behind the metal door—more like scraping—which makes her clench her good fist, but otherwise, the place remains quiet. Sasuke drifts nearby, lazily considering the contents of one cabinet, although from his body language, he looks ready to spring. Every so often, he shoots her a calculating, still suspicious look.

"Still think I'm a spy?" she croaks at him the fourth time he does this, unable to keep the bitterness out of the question.

His face sets in a familiar stubbornness. "I don't know what to think."

"Kind of hard to fake sepsis. Of course, all of this could just mean I'm a very _dedicated_ spy."

"Everyone I've met who works for Orochimaru has been willing to die for him. He's powerful."

He rubs at the back of his neck, a preoccupied set to his jaw.

"I've only ever met people who wanted to kill him," Sarada says, thoughtful. "And after seeing the guy myself—I mean, he is a guy, right? He looked more like a girl when I saw him…anyway…"

She trails off because something dark and pensive passes over Sasuke's face. She doesn't like it.

"Hey, what's your favourite food?" she asks suddenly.

Sasuke looks thrown by the non sequitur, but his focus returns to her. "What?"

"You looked kind of upset there for a minute," she explains. "I don't have any potato chips to offer you, which is what my best friend Chōchō does, so I'm trying to make small talk. My mother does that with her patients when she wants to take their minds off whatever's making them feel bad."

"Small talk," he repeats, half-derisive and half like it's a foreign concept.

"Yeah."

He snorts. "Don't be annoying."

"Oh, come on. It's a safe subject! It's not something confidential, so even if I was a spy, I couldn't take over Konoha with the information."

"I'm not doing this."

"I could be dying. You should humour me."

His eyes narrow. "You are not dying."

"I'm going to guess," she ignores him, and pretends to think about it. "I bet it's tomatoes. You look like a tomato person."

He crosses his arms, defiant.

"What about stuff you do for fun?"

He glares at her.

"You don't seem to have much of a personality," she goes on, "so I guess the only thing you like to do is train. Or take walks. Am I right? I'm right, aren't I?"

If he glares any more, she suspects his face might crumple in on itself.

 _This is way more fun than it should be._

It's easier to tease this version of her father than the adult one. Even though she's mostly been arguing with him, this version is a lot easier to read.

"And, let's see, what else… How about favourite colour? I think it's green."

"Wrong."

Sasuke's eyes bulge a little, as if he didn't expect to say anything. In fact, he appears to be furious with himself.

"Really?" Sarada asks with false innocence. "Are you sure? Because I still want to say green. Not a forest green or a camouflage green. More jade or sea-foam—"

"This is pointless," he protests. "And also rigged. You come from the future—"

"Hah! So, you finally admit I'm not a spy!" she declares happily. "Also, I notice you haven't denied the sea-foam thing."

"What's going on here?" Sakura's tone is falsely bright as she pops up between them so quickly and quietly that both jump. Sarada inhales from the pain of the unexpected movement.

Sakura's eyes narrow at her in suspicion, flitting to Sasuke, and then back. Her lips purse and the carriage of her body is possessive. And the way she's gripping a jar of ointment suggests she's seconds away from breaking it.

Sarada suddenly concludes that her mother is intimidated…by _her_.

Almost like she's worried about competition.

Over her father.

 _Oh, that is so gross_.

She hurries to clear the air. "Sorry. I'm only getting your, um, boyfriend here to admit I'm not a spy."

Which doesn't seem to be the correct answer because Sakura goes pink and flustered, and Sasuke snorts and stalks away from them.

" _Tch_ ," he grunts as he goes, leaving a crushed Sakura, and a confused Sarada.

It occurs to her right then what a bad idea it would be for her mother to learn the truth. This insecure, dependant girl, who is besotted with Sasuke, would hyperventilate herself into a coma. Worse, she might act foolishly and get herself hurt—or killed.

 _Good thing Kakashi's on my side about not talking about the future_ , Sarada decides. She hopes she'll be able to avoid any conversation like that for the duration of this little adventure.

As though summoned by her thoughts, Kakashi materialises beside the girls. He carries a tray with several syringes and flasks of liquid.

"Everything was labelled well with meticulous directions, so it wasn't too difficult to track down what we need. I couldn't find much in the way of anaesthetic though. Sorry."

"I guess in this place, that's the first thing that runs out," Naruto remarks from across the room. "We'll keep looking, though."

"I know we're kind of desperate, but are you sure you can trust anything that's in here?" Sakura asks, setting the jar down beside Sarada.

"Kabuto is a trained medic. He might be an underhanded traitor, but he is a meticulous healer," Kakashi replies with grudging admiration. "The purity of his work—whether it's experimentation or healing—is too important to compromise by mislabelling his medicines."

"I guess…" Sakura doesn't sound too convinced.

Sarada studies the medications in front of her. She recognises most of the names because she's seen them in her mother's clinic. There's an extra-strength antibiotic which should end the infection, along with an internal healing agent, and…weird, round, brown pellets she's never seen.

"What are those?" she asks, wrinkling her nose; they look like rodent poop.

"Soldier pills," Kakashi explains. "They're used in military situations to replenish chakra and nourish the body. They allow you to keep fighting longer than normal, but at the cost of a major crash later on."

"Oh. We have something like that now only they're patches you can put on your skin. The effect is longer and more controlled."

"Sarada—future information," he chides her.

"It's not like knowing that will alter the course of history," she grumbles. She accepts one of the little pellets while Sakura gathers the rest and puts them in her pack. "Ugh! It's like eating mud!"

"Medicine isn't supposed to taste good," Sakura reminds her, and Sarada can't help snorting in amusement because she sounds the same twenty years in the future.

"All of this is still cruder than healing jutsu, but it will get you out of the woods and functional," Kakashi explains. "Sakura found a topical solution as well. We can check the bandage and incisions I made before and then put this on to fight the bacteria. I don't think you want to deal with gangrene."

"No, thank you," she concurs. A minute later, she adds, "You know you don't have to explain all this, right? My mother's a medic. I could do all this myself if I could move my arm."

Kakashi chuckles at that and unbinds her injury then reaches for the syringes full of medication. She winces as he finds a vein and tries not to swear.

The process is long, but it surprises Sarada to find Sakura stays beside her. She might not like her very much, but she still offers Sarada her hand to squeeze whenever the pain from Kakashi's gentle prodding becomes too intense. The rest of the time, she is observing everything Kakashi does, looking fascinated and far from squeamish. Which is more than can be said for Naruto whenever he wanders over to them. He keeps pulling faces, and when Sarada glances down, she can't even blame him.

Until now, she hasn't seen her injury.

She woke up with it bandaged and set in a sling, but staring at it now, she realises it barely even resembles a hand anymore. Her bones, while not poking through her skin, seem crooked and misshapen; the knuckles of her index and middle fingers might as well have been pulverised. The incision marks that show where Kakashi put the bones back into place (what was left of them, in some cases) are reasonably well done. Visually, though, they are rough and in no way resemble the barely-there sutures she would have gotten at Konoha Hospital.

Sarada has more to worry about than aesthetics. All she can hope for is that the injury doesn't get badly infected. Then, if she gets home—when she gets home—her mother can fix the whole thing.

 _Which I figure means having them re-broken._

She winces at both the imagery and Kakashi clipping the thread off of a stitch he had to redo.

"Outside of the pain, how are you feeling?" Kakashi asks. "Your strength, at least, should have returned."

"Yeah," Sarada agrees. "I guess those mud pellets really work."

"We'll re-wrap the bandages and set it again," Kakashi says.

"How much longer is this going to take?" Sasuke asks, voice tense.

"Five to ten minutes."

"What if we didn't have five to ten minutes?"

"We'd have to—why?" Kakashi glances up and freezes.

"Because I seriously doubt we have five to ten minutes," Sasuke says, his eyes trained beyond something Sarada can see.

Everyone turns to see the exit to the lab blocked by a pale, looming shape that bursts into existence right in front of the steel door. It's so quick and quiet, no one would've noticed it had Sasuke not been staring in that direction.

Sarada's stomach drops as she recognises the wild-eyed ghost man from earlier that day. When his eyes lock with hers, his features pull into the furious expression she remembers from his last attack.

"She lived," he growls.

The black mark spreads across his face and, with a furious bellow, he lunges.

つづく

* * *

 _Yes, yes that was an_ I, Robot _reference. Because that's just how I roll… ^_^_

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	9. Chapter Seven

Kakashi reacts before thinking.

He has seen this type of fighting style before—knows it intimately. Even before the pale, ghostly man disappears into thin air, Kakashi has already moved. He inserts himself into the open gap behind Sarada because it's the most logical point of attack.

The curse-marked teleporter appears in that space, inches away, hand grasping for the girl's throat. Kakashi's chest intercepts him, however, and he grasps the incoming wrist.

"That's the _Hiraishin_ ," he growls, eyes narrowed as he tightens his already firm grip. "Where did you learn…?"

The rest of his sentence trails off and Kakashi has trouble fighting down a sudden bout of nausea. Because the most shocking thing about this mysterious enemy is not how fast he is nor his inexplicable attack on a preteen girl. It's the way he looks.

The likeness isn't obvious, not as he's depicted on Hokage Rock or even in the many pictures that Kakashi has of him. In fact, only someone who has personally known the man could tell. Someone who has seen every permutation of his expression ad stood beside him in the pouring rain or the blood of battle.

There are no laughter lines in this unnaturally pale face. His skin is sickly, like a corpse held underwater too long, and covered with the blighted stain of a curse-mark. There are other differences—the white blond hair, the more solid build, and his eyes are hard and black instead of laughing blue. But there's no mistaking who the teleporter was _meant_ to resemble. And if the countless minute scars crisscrossing his skin are any indication, someone was _purposefully_ attempting to mould and sculpt the face and muscles beneath it to imitate—

"Minato-sensei," he breathes.

His opponent's eyes narrow, and he hisses, "Not him—never him! Failed the test, he said—I failed the test!"

Kakashi is forced to release the man's wrist when his other hand whips forward, a kunai at the ready. The jōnin ducks out of the way, but the hand—as well as the body it's attached to—vanishes again.

"Be careful!" Sarada cries. "If he catches you with that, you're done! There's a paralysis toxin on it!"

The man is already appearing in mid-air across the room. He slices downward at Sasuke, and there's a glint of steel—but Naruto gets in the way. He takes the blade meant for his teammate to the throat.

And then disappears in a puff of smoke.

 _A shadow clone._

"Watch your backs!" Kakashi commands, taking a guard position in front of the girls. Sarada scrambles off the metal table while Sakura pulls out several shuriken. Across the room, Naruto and a disgruntled Sasuke go back-to-back as well. Half a dozen shadow clones take up residence in the cavernous room, and Kakashi pushes his forehead protector up higher. There is no question he will need the Sharingan to follow this opponent's moves.

"Why's he doing this?" Sakura demands. "He's just…attacking! There's no reason!"

"It was the same before," Sarada replies, grasping one-handed for a kunai. "Except last time, he talked."

"I don't think he's entirely lucid," Kakashi theorises. Which makes it even more important that he stop him. In his experience, insanity and power are a deadly combination.

 _Easier said than done, though._

The key to defeating the _Hiraishin_ is the ability to predict where its user will be next. With Minato, someone Kakashi knew well, he could only do that half the time, even with the Sharingan. Aside from the warped resemblance, this enemy is a complete unknown. Predicting him will be next to impossible, especially since he doesn't use—

"Anchors," he mutters in realisation.

Sakura cries out as the teleporter appears beside her; she holds up her blade to fend off an attack that never connects.

A glint in the dim light of the laboratory reveals wires crisscrossed over hers and Sarada's heads. At the other end, Sasuke winds them around his hand in a firm grip and pulls, forcing their attacker away. As the momentum propels him toward Sasuke, the teleporter vanishes yet again.

Only to reappear behind the boy, sweeping his knees out from beneath him. As Sasuke rolls to recover, Naruto leaps on the enemy from behind, putting him in a hold around the neck.

The teleporter disappears—along with the boy—and reappears several feet above their heads. In mid-air, he flips Naruto over his shoulder and disappears again, re-emerging beneath him with his blade raised high. A shadow clone barrels into him, saving Naruto from being skewered, but allowing their opponent to vanish again.

There's a blur as he materialises in Kakashi's peripheral vision. He grasps at the pale man, but his fingers only snatch empty air. The Sharingan tracks his footwork, however, and following a wild guess, the jōnin throws himself forward into the path of the ghostly man just as he materialises.

Kakashi worries he won't be fast enough to predict his moves again. Instead, he concentrates a small ball of chakra into his palm, transferring a hastily concocted seal to the enemy's chest.

 _You want to use Lord Fourth's jutsu without anchors? The most important thing about the anchors wasn't just so he could know where he was going—they're also an effective way of keeping track of others!_

The teleporter twists away and vanishes again. This time, though, Kakashi is aware of where he will be next.

He uses a _Shushin_ to get across the room, catching the Ghost-Man's blade with his own. A blink later and he is alone, his chakra brand flitting to the other side of the chamber. Kakashi swears and throws himself forward again, skidding into place a second after the Ghost-Man materialises there. The wild-eyed, he snarls as Kakashi spins a kunai into his hand and lunges; Kakashi slashes at his throat and misses as his opponent flickers, then reappears inches to the left. As his momentum propels him forward, the man brings up an elbow, jutting it toward Kakashi's throat.

Kakashi dodges the blow that would crush his windpipe, but inadvertently puts his face into harm's way. Pain explodes across his cheek and jaw, the burning sting suggestion a fracture, but there's no time to react to it. Kakashi's opponent is already bringing his blade up again, attempting to stab him from behind.

The Sharingan tracks the movement and Kakashi ducks down, sweeping is leg out parallel to the floor until it connects with the other man's ankle. Hooking it around, he upsets his opponent's balance, waiting for him to hit the ground—

The Ghost-Man teleports at the last moment, tumbling into view several feet away from Kakashi, and then makes another run for the kids.

"As if I'd let that happen," Kakashi growls, summoning up enough chakra to increase his speed to once more head him off. His lungs burn and muscles stretch to the point of tearing, but he hasn't competed against Maito Gai for almost twenty years without learning endurance!

They race each other throughout the room, teleportation against physical speed, up the walls and across the ceiling, as down below the kids shout exclamations and warnings. Upon returning to the floor, the marked man shoves Kakashi into a wall, taking a swipe at his face, but Kakashi ducks, kicking out. The Ghost-Man diverts the path of his leg, forcing Kakashi to skid backwards, catch himself on one knee, and then dart forward again.

Bellowing angrily, the marked man flings a barrage of kunai in his direction. Kakashi's fingers fly— _"Doryūheki!"—_ and a wall of mud explodes from the ground to shield him. It's a distraction, though, as Kakashi discovers when he senses the marked man in the space behind him, attempting to bring his blade down on Kakashi's head. He strains to meet it—sparks fly from where the blades connect—and he lashes upward with his right knee, landing a hard blow to his opponent's side. When the Ghost-Man swipes at his face, Kakashi catches the incoming arm in a lock, then twists his body upward to kick at his head.

His opponent grunts, stumbling forward, and Kakashi takes advantage of this to leverage himself upward. He hooks his left leg over the other man's shoulder, then pulls the right one up. Feet crossed behind the curse-marked man, he bends his body backward, using his momentum to tug the other man with him. Landing on his hands, Kakashi uses the force of his legs to haul his enemy over his head and flip him flat on his back.

Disoriented, the Ghost-Man remains on the ground for precious seconds, and Kakashi scrambles to his feet, stomping his heel into the man's face.

Before he can connect, the pale man vanishes.

 _Damn it!_

Kakashi's head whips up, just in time to brace himself for the body barrelling into him, shoving him through one of the giant columns supporting the ceiling.

Dust fills the air, the room shaking from the impact.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura calls, anxious.

Panting, he gets to his feet, wincing at the ache in his chest—he suspects a broken rib—and takes off after the marked man once more.

This confusing, high-speed dance repeats several times. To Kakashi's dismay, every time, he's a fraction of a second slower.

 _It makes no sense! He should be running out of stamina!_

 _Hiraishin_ isn't something that can be used indefinitely or in such rapid succession. Not without the chakra reserves to back it up. Kakashi doesn't have those or the curse-mark which he assumes is powering his opponent.

 _At this rate, I'll burn out before he does._

And when that happens, his students are the ones who will suffer. The teleporter is still much too fast for any of them to do anything about. If Kakashi can just catch the guy in one place for long enough, he can fully incapacitate him. After that, they can question him.

An idea comes to him then. A spectacularly bad course of action that he would rather not do. The two times he's ever needed to rely on the advanced abilities of his evolved Sharingan, he's ended up temporarily blind or passed out. And he's never tried to bring anything back, which they will need to be able to do.

But there is no telling how long this teleporting enemy can keep up his relentless assault on all of them. As fast as each member of Team 7 can be, they will never catch up with someone who can flit from place to place in the blink of an eye.

 _This guy is fast! Faster than Itachi even. Which means we're all dead if we can't stop him!_

Which makes it the only option.

"Naruto, behind you!" he orders, conscious of the small burst of chakra zipping across the laboratory toward the boys.

One of Naruto's clones takes a running jump, vaults over the original and lands a punch on the teleporter right when he bursts into existence. As he careens backward, he doesn't disappear again, suggesting he's been momentarily stunned.

"Sasuke, keep him still!"

The boy doesn't reply, instead he forms a series of hand signs— _Kanashibari_ —and the teleported seizes up.

"I can't hold it very long," Sasuke warns his sensei, unsure exactly what the plan is.

"That's fine. You and Naruto get clear," Kakashi orders, striding forward; his regular eye is shut tight, and his Sharingan is— _That pattern!_ Sasuke realises, seeing that Kakashi's eye doesn't just show the _tomoe_ design he's become familiar with. Instead, something like a spinning black wheel has taken its place. "You have the—!"

"Not now, Sasuke! Get out of the way!" Kakashi snarls, focussing on the spot where the teleporter is already getting his ability to move back. The paralysis technique appears to be less effective against the strength of a curse-mark.

Despite his first instinct, Sasuke doesn't argue. This turns out to be a good idea, especially once he notices the air around the crazed man begin to ripple and whirl. He skids out of the way, retreating to where Naruto and several clones are waiting.

Sasuke's own Sharingan allows him to see exactly what's happening.

The air beside the teleporter distends. In the same manner that the world within the time bubble seemed grainy and too textured, the epicentre of the weird rippling phenomenon has a strange consistency to it. In the distance, an odd vista of block-like columns is visible.

Another _dimension_?

"Too strong," the pale man growls, trying to drag himself away from whatever is happening. He grasps hold of the nearest solid weight—the steel of the mysterious door the squad noticed earlier—and holds on. His grip is so tight the metal warps.

Kakashi gives a shout of effort, and blood weeps from his left eye.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cries out in horror, and even Sarada's face is twisted in disbelief.

There is a scraping, grinding sound as the door is torn from its hinges. The ghostly pale man howls in anger—

And then he's gone. There's nothing but an empty door frame, leading into the shadowed dark.

Kakashi slumps, only just barely stopping himself from falling to the ground. "Got him," he says, sounding weary, yet relieved. "He's trapped."

"Trapped where?" Sasuke demands, regaining his wits. "What did you do? _How_ did you do it? And when the hell did you get—" He finds himself abruptly thrown backward. The right side of his chest burns in pain, and there's a snarling, grunting noise that fills the air.

"Sasuke!"

Sakura's scream brings him back to himself. He's on his back, a heavy figure looming above him, keeping him pinned to the ground. It seems to laugh—at least that's what the noise sounds like. It's hard to tell, as the man-shaped creature's mouth has been wired shut. Instead of claws, this _thing_ has razor blades sewn into its bloodied fingers which it pulls back to take another swipe at him.

It doesn't get the chance as it is hit from behind by a Rasengan.

"Hey, get off your ass, Sasuke! I don't have time to keep saving it!" Naruto yells, livid. "We've got company!"

Sasuke doesn't reply, jumping to his feet. He's furious at himself, once again needing his teammate to save him.

He ignores the deep gashes in his chest and takes a quick survey of their latest obstacle—or rather, obstacles. Dark shapes fly through the now open doorway at an alarming rate, like rats escaping a sinking ship.

The imagery is apt as they—whatever they are—more closely resemble vermin than people. They might have been human at one point, but now none of the poor wretches even resemble men. It's as if someone took leftover body parts and shoved them together, creating patchwork monstrosities. Some of the creatures are missing eyes, others have extra ones sewn in. One newcomer has hands where his feet should be. All of them are covered with sinister versions of the same curse-mark that the Ghost-Man sported.

Just seeing them makes Sasuke's shoulder twinge uncomfortably.

"Orochimaru's failed experiments," he realises, looking at the things and trying not to throw up; they are grotesque, perversions of nature.

"Or Kabuto's," Sakura says, disgust and contempt filling her voice.

"Everyone get out of here, now," Kakashi orders. "There's…no way we…can…"

His eyes roll back, and he topples backward, unconscious.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yells, and two of his clones rush over to him.

"Great," Sasuke fumes.

It looks like it's up to him and the idiot to get them out of this one. And considering the number of creatures with curse seals that keep pouring through the door, they will not last very long.

His own seal burns on the back of his night, tempting him to give in to it. It will lend him the power he needs, and with it, he might be able to protect the others. He's an _Uchiha_ , not whatever these poor bastards were before.

But remembering Kakashi's now useless, unconscious body stops him.

The curse seal weakens him too much. The squad has already lost their strongest fighter; he can't afford to deprive them of another.

No matter how much his blood sings to let loose.

"Sakura, get Sarada and Kakashi out of here!" he bellows, a _Chidori_ crackling to life in his palm. He only has enough chakra for two raw bursts—if he's lucky he can push it to three. He might be able to buy the others time to escape.

Naruto has called up more clones, two of them are already pulling together another Rasengan. Still, it's an obvious effort; the ball of energy is nowhere near as big as it needs to be. Behind them, two clones hand the unconscious jōnin off to the girls, and then return to the fray.

"We don't have much time," Sakura mutters, hefting Kakashi over her shoulder.

"No—and those things will keep coming with nothing holding them back," Sarada agrees. "We have to find a way to plug the hole."

Sakura draws out a handful of kunai with explosive tags attached. "I can set these off."

"Too much can go wrong with that," Sarada points out, keeping her eye on the waves of curse-mark beasts trying to reach them. The boys are doing a barely sufficient job keeping them away, but it won't last. "If the blast radius is too concentrated, it'll hit Naruto and Sasuke—if not, these _things_ can get out."

"It doesn't matter," Sakura tells her. "Better we keep them from getting out, even if we have to sacrifice ourselves to do it."

Sarada's jaw tightens at that, and she looks away from Sakura then. Her head moves from side to side, as if taking in the width of the room and, for an instant, Sakura imagines a glint of red behind the broken glasses.

When the girl returns her attention to Sakura, her onyx eyes are hard.

 _Black eyes. I_ did _imagine it,_ Sakura thinks as Sarada announces, "I have an idea. A chamber this big needs to have load-bearing walls. If we take out the walls where the most support is—"

"We take the whole place down," Sakura finishes, also glancing around the room now. She does quick calculations in her head, based on the dimensions of the room and an estimate of how deep they are underground.

She tries not to dwell on the fact the other girl figured that out before her.

"We need to get the others out," Sarada says. "Back the way we came in—and then, if we set off some controlled explosions, we can cause this whole place to collapse."

"That could collapse more than just this cavern, though."

"It's a risk we have to take!"

Sakura grunts in half-hearted agreement and calls out to her teammates. "You guys! We need to get out of here! Fall back!"

The boys listen for once.

Both Sasuke and Naruto retreat toward the entrance while Naruto's shadow clones scatter. Two help Kakashi disappear through the door while the rest form a barrier against the incoming beasts. When the pale creatures attempt to leap over the wall of orange-clad clones, Sasuke lets loose a burning assault of fire.

It feels like an eternity later, even though it's only a few seconds, before the boys stagger past Sarada and Sakura.

"Now!" Sarada orders, and Sakura flings the explosive tags in a circle around her, hitting the load-bearing pillars of the laboratory. Before she ducks back out into the hall, she throws the second volley to ignite the tags.

"Get back!" Sasuke snaps, pulling Sakura into the relative safety of the outer hall. He reaches for Sarada, too, but she darts out of his reach.

"Sarada!" Naruto yells.

Everyone watches as she jumps into the air, bringing down her uninjured hand toward the spot where she just stood. There's a trick of the light where her eyes seem to burn red and her fist connects.

 _It_ has _to be a trick of the light_ , Sasuke insists to himself.

The ground beneath her cracks and splinters in the same they have all seen when Tsunade uses her massive strength. While the destruction scale isn't quite as impressive as the Fifth Hokage, the way the laboratory is already collapsing in on itself, it remains effective enough.

The cracks she's made radiate within the frame of the entrance, splintering up the top and travelling along the ceiling and walls in the immediate area. Already weakened, the whole entrance passage joins the laboratory in coming apart.

"Watch out!" Naruto shouts as the girl is almost obscured with dust.

From within the flying debris, the last of his clones appears and shoves her out of the way. An instant later, a large block of the ceiling slams into the place where she once stood. Naruto is just in time to catch Sarada before she hits the ground, but there's no time to rest. The whole hallway and tunnel network begins to crumble as well.

"Everyone move it!" Sasuke orders, as between him and Sakura they drag Kakashi up the passage.

There doesn't seem to be a minimum safe distance, though, because the cracks keep following them. As they run, large chunks of stone and dirt fall from behind, and it's all they can do to keep ahead of the destruction.

"Which way?" Sakura demands. "Kakashi-sensei said he marked them, but—"

"Who cares? Just don't die!" Sasuke snaps as a passage near them implodes.

They have nowhere to go except straight, relentlessly pursued by the roar of sand and earth crumbling. Even the ground beneath their feet threatens to give way.

"There!" Sarada shouts, pointing to a small side-space that doesn't appear to be in the path of the breaking ceiling. Sasuke wonders how she saw it—he barely noticed it—but there's no time to question and no other choice.

Everyone crams into the small tunnel, staggering over each other to fit inside.

They are hardly through when the waning light from the main hallway extinguishes, and the entrance is sealed behind them.

There's an unearthly silence.

"Is everyone okay?" Sakura whispers after several long, breathless moments.

"Other than the fact we're buried underground?" Naruto croaks. "Yeah, great."

He makes a spitting sound, which Sakura supposes is him clearing the earth and dust from his mouth.

"Watch it!" Sasuke snaps, and there's the sound of a fist smacking thick bone.

"Hey!"

Naruto clutches at his head and take a swing at his teammate; his arm goes wide and Sasuke dodges with ease. Despite the lack of light, Sasuke can see everyone's outlines well enough with his Sharingan. There are darker patches on everyone's faces, mostly bruises and dirt, but otherwise they appear all right.

He's uncomfortably relieved at that.

"Let's not do that again," Sarada says, grimacing.

"You were the one with the bright idea to collapse the ceiling of an underground cave on us." Sasuke's voice is derisive as he examines his chest, wincing as he prods the gashes there. The bleeding isn't life-threatening, but he'll need to treat it soon before infection sets in.

"It worked, didn't it? Also… _ow_."

"Can we get some light in here?" Sakura asks. "I can't see a thing."

"Speak for yourself."

"Not all of us can see in the dark, Sasuke," she chides, exasperated with him for the first time all day. "Hold on. I think Kakashi-sensei has another glow stick in his pack." She rummages.

"How is he?" Naruto asks.

"Unconscious. He's breathing, though, and his pulse is normal, so that's a good sign."

"Why did he pass out like that?"

"Exhaustion, I think. Whatever he did to that teleporting curse-marked guy, it took a lot out of him."

"What _did_ he do?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say he somehow shifted the Ghost-Man into another dimension. It would make sense, considering the way he was talking about different dimensions earlier today. But I never realised that he could do it. Can all Sharingan do that, Sasuke?"

"No," is the flat reply. "That was a higher-level ability. I've never seen it before. But I want to find out how and why he has it."

"He shouldn't have done it," Sarada declares fervently. "He could've gotten himself killed—then all of…all of us would have been in trouble."

"Kakashi-sensei wouldn't have done it if he didn't have to," Sakura retorts. "He would never put his comrades in danger unless he had no other choice."

"Besides, we did fine," Naruto insists. "I was awesome, as usual, and only had to pick up Sasuke's slack a little." _Thwack_! "Ow! Stop that!"

"Knock it off, you two! There's hardly enough room in here as it is!"

Which isn't exactly true. The spot where they've all come to rest is just shy of where the earth has caved in, cutting them off from the rest of the underground hallways. This side-space also leads somewhere—Sasuke just isn't sure where.

"Oh, look, there's more tunnel," Sarada says, scanning ahead a little. Sasuke frowns, not sure how she can see that, especially before Sakura opens one of the glow-sticks with a _crack_. The area is filled with a familiar, eerie green light and Sarada turns back to them. "I bet there's another way out that way. If we follow the—"

Three shocked gasps interrupt her.

Naruto's jaw slackens, and Sakura feels the colour drain from her cheeks. Sasuke's pupils constrict to angry pinpoints within his Sharingan, and a choking sensation clogs his throat.

 _Sharingan_.

Sarada, impossibly, has the Sharingan.

"I knew it!" Naruto cries, cutting through the tense silence. "I knew I—"

"I thought I was imagining it," Sakura gasps. "You really have the—?"

"Sharingan," Sasuke finishes.

Sarada's attempt to explain is cut off when he surges forward with a growl, shoving her back against the tightly packed rubble. A pained cry tears from her throat as her shoulder connects with a particularly pointy stone, but he doesn't care.

"What the hell are you?" Sasuke demands, _tomoe_ wheeling and spinning at her as he seeks some clue to how she has eyes like him.

"Hey, Sasuke, stop!" Naruto cries, trying to pull him away.

Sasuke ignores him, elbowing the blond boy off with one arm while the other settles against the base of Sarada's throat.

Desperation and confusion well up within him, as well as a vicious, primal anger at the thought that perhaps this girl somehow _stole_ these eyes. It's the most serious crime among the Uchiha, after all, but no…he doesn't sense anyone else's chakra signature but her, so they belong to her, but—

"Stop, Sasuke! Please!" Sakura implores. "We need to find out what's going on, and we can't if you—"

"Going on? Isn't it obvious?" he hisses. "She's an experiment. Orochimaru somehow got his hands on a Sharingan. He cloned it or something and implanted it into her!"

"I thought the time-travel story sounded weird," Naruto stage-whispers. "It's cool and all, but it doesn't make any sense."

"I'm not an experiment!"

"All the Uchiha but me are dead," Sasuke tells her savagely. "Except one, even if he can barely be counted. And you're not him, so you must be one of Orochimaru's creations."

"Maybe there's a secret branch of the Uchiha who survived," Sakura suggests, sounding timid and hopeful.

"Sarada…"

Everyone goes silent at the croak of her name. Kakashi doesn't move, but both of his eyes are fixed upon her.

"Kakashi-sensei! Are you—?"

"There's a…simple explanation…for all this." He ignores Sakura's question, focussed only on Sarada. Every word sounds like it's an effort. "I'm afraid…you have no choice. Time to…tell the truth."

His mask crinkles a bit, like he's trying to smile at her, trying to invite her to explain herself.

"We're long past the point…where we can do anything about it. Right now…we need to hear…the truth."

"That's only gonna happen if Sasuke stops trying to kill her," Naruto points out.

Sasuke makes a disapproving noise at the back of his throat but removes his arm. Sarada takes a shuddering breath, massaging her neck with her uninjured hand.

"I swear, I didn't lie to you guys before," she insists. "I really am from the future, and I know all of you because I'm—"

"Anything you say now is probably a lie to cover your own skin," Sasuke cuts her off.

"No! I can prove it! I-I know stuff! Stuff other people wouldn't, n-not if you didn't trust them!"

"A talented ninja can easily obtain any kind of information. Especially under torture."

"Shinobi look for state secrets or classified information," she counters. "Not the little things! Like…like Naruto!"

The blond boy startles at being addressed.

"You once told me—will tell me—that you sewed a training dummy up to look like Kakashi," she declares. "And every time you got assigned a cat-rescue mission, you'd go home and throw shuriken at it."

Sasuke's expression doesn't change, but Sakura's flit to Naruto in something like nervous amusement—or exasperation. "That's really immature, Naruto."

The blond boy chuckles nervously, then shoves a finger at Sarada. "She's lying! Remember? Creepy experiment from the future? I'd never—"

"I already knew about the dummy," Kakashi sighs, trying to pull himself into a sitting position. His arms wobble as he tries, so Sakura moves to help him up at once. "Naruto, you realise I'm…not the one who assigns our missions…right?"

"Yeah, but you make us accept 'em—and hold on! You've been in my _room_?!"

"A few times. You should watch those sell-by dates on your milk."

"Stay on topic!" Sakura barks and then shoots a distrustful glare at Sarada. "That's not very good proof. Kakashi already knew, so it wouldn't exactly be hard for someone to guess."

Sarada desperately casts about for something else to say.

"Um…Kakashi! He actually spends _days_ coming up with ideas for his competitions with Gai! Then he pretends like it's just something he thought up on the spur of the moment."

Kakashi's normal eye narrows at her. "I do not."

"You do, too! You told me yourself about the can-opener competition."

Even in the dark, she can see him go red beneath his mask.

"What can-opener competition?" Naruto asks, but Sasuke has had enough.

"None of this is anything you couldn't have found out with observation," he snaps at her. "It doesn't prove a thing."

She looks like she's struggling, panic in her eyes, and then she blurts out, "You slept with a green plush dinosaur until the night before you started the Academy."

Sasuke freezes; beside him, Naruto huffs in amusement, and Sakura's expression softens in an embarrassing affection.

"How do you… No. You could have still—"

"It belonged to your brother before it belonged to you," she continues. "And _you_ told me it's the only thing you kept from before he left."

He's too surprised to speak right now, and she takes advantage of it.

"You weren't going to keep it. But when you were about to throw it out, you remembered something your mother told you. About how she got your father to win it for her in a game of _yo-yo tsuri_ , and you kept it on account of her and—"

"Stop."

To everyone's surprise, he is now moving away from her. He crawls backward, pushing himself to his feet so he can take another step away. His eyes are back to normal now, despite staring at her like he can't decide whether he is amazed or terrified by her.

"Who are you?" Naruto asks. "Why would we tell you this stuff?"

That's the question of the day, really. And there's no other choice but to answer it now.

"My name is Sarada…Uchiha," she whispers. "And the reason I know all that stuff is that I'm…well…Sasuke Uchiha is my…my father."

There is a heavy silence.

Everyone's gaze flies to Sasuke, who continues to stare at Sarada. There is definitely more fear than amazement in his eyes now now.

"But that's…that can't be," Sakura murmurs hesitantly.

"No way," Naruto adds, goggle-eyed.

"It has to be," Sasuke says, surprising them by speaking, though his voice is hoarse. Thoughts whizz too quickly through his mind for him to focus on any one, and so he focusses on the most simple. "She's from the future, and she knows… I wouldn't have told…" He gives his head a little shake and his features become carefully blank. It's the same expression Sarada is used to from his future self. "The only way there could be a Sharingan in the future is if I have completed my goals."

"Goals?" she repeats.

"'Kill a certain person and restore the clan'," Sakura says out loud, gaping at Sasuke's back. "So that means you…"

"The only other person who could pass on the Sharingan must be dead," Sasuke says. "I wouldn't go on to restore the clan until after that happened."

Silence passes over the entire group as his exact meaning sets in.

"Uh, Sasuke? I don't mean to…be the depressing one or anything," Naruto begins tentatively. "But how can we be sure she's yours and not… I mean, it's like you said :there's still two of you left. So isn't it possible that…" He can't seem to bring herself to say it, but everyone grasps the idea.

"If by some twist of fate Itachi is the one who kills me in the future, he wouldn't sire children," Sasuke dismisses, his voice turning bitter. "He's too focussed on _testing_ himself. And what would be the point after he went through so much trouble to murder his entire family?"

Sarada jerks as if someone has just stuck an icy knife into her back.

"What?" she chokes, eye moving rapidly like she is doing some quick thinking. Then, she whispers, "You mean…the 'grave misfortune'…that was…?" She tries to speak again, barely able to control the tremble in her voice. "What do you mean…he _murdered_ …?"

Sasuke narrows his eyes at her. "You have all of that useless information about us, but you don't know the history of our clan?"

"She wouldn't," Kakashi speaks up. "You wouldn't tell her." Sasuke looks like he wants to argue, but Kakashi goes on. "Sasuke, you wouldn't wish…that knowledge…on any other child. Especially your own."

"And let's face it," Naruto pipes up. "You never even really told us, and we're your best friends!"

"Hm." Sasuke grunts, neither in confirmation nor denial, but can't seem to come up with a credible argument for that.

"What happened?" Sarada repeats. "You never said—"

Sasuke scowls and glares at his feet; noticing this, Sakura speaks up. "You shouldn't tell her. If your future self doesn't tell her, I bet there's a reason."

Sasuke doesn't argue—he doesn't say anything. Instead, his eyes fix on Sarada's face, trying to pick out little details he didn't notice before. There's a haunted, almost hungry purpose in his actions now.

"Wait a minute," Naruto says. "If Sasuke's your dad—or will be your dad—or…ugh, this is confusing…"

"Who's your mother?" Sakura finishes, a somewhat fearful tremble in her voice as if she wants to find out but doesn't at the same time.

"I—She's—" Sarada begins, not sure if it's a good idea to answer.

Thankfully, Naruto interrupts. "Well, Sarada's super strong. Hey! I bet it's Granny Tsunade!"

"You idiot! She's like fifty years old!" Sakura hisses, throwing a series of punches that Naruto barely ducks.

"Hey, don't get mad at me! Sasuke might be into that sort of thing and that's why he never—"

"Oh, no, he's not!"

 _Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!_

"Ow-ow—OW! Stop it!"

"Both of you, shut up," Sasuke growls.

"Yeah," Sarada agrees. "I really don't need to hear—"

"She might take on an apprentice at some point," Sakura suggests after a spell, sounding depressed.

"Oh, yeah! That's true! Hey, isn't that Tenten girl always talking about how Granny's her hero?" Naruto guesses. "I bet it's her! I mean, that'd make sense, seeing as how she's such a great fighter and all."

Sasuke clenches his fists, teeth bared in fury at his teammates. "If you two don't stop talking, I will gut you."

"That's enough, all of you," Kakashi speaks up, much to Sakura's relief.

"We've already decided that sharing…future information must be kept to…a minimum," Kakashi continues, firm despite his exhaustion. "Knowing Sarada is an Uchiha is…helpful…to our immediate situation."

Sakura protests. "But Kakashi-sensei—"

"Any other…information…is of no consequence to the mission," he insists, although his eyes linger briefly on the pink-haired girl.

He glances back to Sarada, raising an eyebrow, and she nods incrementally.

 _Well, that complicates things._

"While I'm…sure that Sasuke's future…partner…is someone very strong and capable…there's also the possibility…of her being furious at us for putting Sarada…in danger. We shouldn't waste…any more time."

Sarada nods to herself. The message is clear: reveal nothing else.

Naruto and Sakura look put out by this order, but Sasuke seems more than ready to comply. In fact, he has focussed his attention squarely on Kakashi now.

"No, we shouldn't," he agrees, his voice carefully controlled. "As you said, that information is useless to us right now. But there is something relevant to the mission that I'd like to know." The cool glare he trains on the jōnin intensifies. "How long have you had the Mangekyō Sharingan, Kakashi?"

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	10. Chapter Eight

"What's a Mango Cute Sharingan?" Naruto asks.

"Mangekyō," Sarada corrects in a low voice. "It's an advanced form of Sharingan that can grant powerful abilities. But it comes at a great cost."

Her expression morphs into sudden understanding as if she's putting together something in her head. Her eyes, now back to normal, flit toward Sasuke, but he refuses to look at her.

His fists clench. "It's a secret of the Uchiha clan," he bites out. "You shouldn't speak of it so openly."

Naruto chuckles nervously and tries to joke. "Yeah, Sarada, listen to your father—"

"Shut up," Sakura orders. Her entire body is rigid, muscles coiled likes springs. While Naruto finds the whole situation astonishing and somewhat humorous, Sakura at least has the decency to be serious.

Sasuke doesn't even know how to react properly. He shuts his eyes, but the image of Sarada—his future daughter—refuses to abate. He feels like an idiot for not seeing it sooner.

Sarada looks like him—more than that, he can see the curve of his mother's smile in hers and in the softness of her features. There's a tiny line in her forehead that his father had when he frowned. And her eyelashes—long, just like Itachi's were.

Are.

An overwhelming wave of pain crashes over Sasuke as he realises the reason he didn't notice was because it's been so long. He's forgotten his family's features beyond what can be seen in photographs.

Photographs he has refused to look at for five years.

There are other characteristics, though, that don't resemble his at all. Sarada's eyes might be the same colour, but they are wider and oval-shaped, like a cat's. Her face shape is entirely different, and she wears glasses, which is an utterly foreign concept to him. Sasuke can't remember if there has ever been an Uchiha who wore glasses before.

But then he realises, with no other clan member to marry, he would—his future self _must_ —undoubtedly choose an outsider. Likely, the weaker eyesight comes from that person.

Which brings up an even more confusing question.

Despite his earlier words, Sasuke can't help wondering who it is that he marries in the future. Based on what Sarada can do, and the things that she's said, her mother is obviously a formidable woman. It's simple and logical, and he supposes his future self would want the fittest candidate to ensure he re-establishes the Uchiha to be stronger than ever.

A tiny, nagging disappointment flickers at the back of his mind that it's not Sakura.

He never said outright that he doesn't like her; he doesn't _dislike_ her and, amazingly, she's less irritating than the other girls from their age group. As a teammate, she's someone he trusts—possibly the only girl he's ever trusted. In a way, she's been his default choice the few times he's ever pictured himself married or with a family. A part of him has always expected that once he went off to kill Itachi, he would return, and she would be there waiting for him.

Now he realises how naïve that is. He assumed she would never get over the silly crush she has on him, but Sarada's existence suggests she did. Sakura will likely grow up, finally realise she isn't cut out to be a ninja and get over him. She will go on with her life while his future self makes more practical decisions concerning the future of the Uchiha.

 _This future is what's…optimal for both of us…_

Sakura is a kind-hearted girl who deserves someone who can return her feelings completely. Not an avenger.

He can't help being a little terrified, though, because at least Sakura is familiar to him.

And with Sarada here, it means he now has tangible proof that he will one day achieve his goals. The second one being true all-but proves the first is as well. And yet, for whatever reason, he doesn't feel as accomplished as he thought he would. The heavy, invisible burden that has weighted down his heart since he discovered his family dead is not gone.

Restoring the clan is good news. There's an odd sense of pride flickering to the surface, having seen what Sarada can do. She has strength and endurance and intelligence; everything an Uchiha should have, but—

But the knowledge that he has killed Itachi already somewhere in the future?

An uncomfortable hollowness settles in his gut. Kakashi was right about what he said before: knowing the future is dangerous. Better to focus on the present, and the questions that can be answered now.

"The only way to get the Mangekyō Sharingan is to kill the person you love most," Sasuke states blandly, addressing Kakashi. "That's right, isn't it? That's how your got yours?"

There are gasps of dismay from the girls, and Naruto is even shocked into silence.

"Yes," Kakashi confirms.

"Was it the Uchiha whose Sharingan you possess?" It's a tactless question, but there's no other way to ask it.

"No. That was…before," Kakashi hedges. "He saved my life—saved our entire squad—and then gave me his eye so that I could save the girl we both cared for."

"So, it was her then."

Kakashi closes his eyes and that's all the confirmation he needs. Sasuke wants to press the issue, but the others are listening too raptly. He doesn't want them to notice his interest.

Obviously, Kakashi doesn't want to talk about how he was granted this ability. Sasuke knows why, of course, but he is furious that his teacher kept something like this from him. The jōnin is the only one around with a Sharingan who Sasuke can look to for guidance. Someone who can help him understand and deal with what he read on the tablet at the Naka shrine. Things he thought were secret, things that gave him nightmares because, one day, he will have to—

 _No. That will not happen_ _,_ Sasuke tells himself firmly.

Because Sarada has already said she knows all of them in the future—a weird concept in itself—so it means that he and Naruto live. It means he never has to kill the person who has slowly and irritatingly wormed his way into Sasuke's life as his best friend. There's more relief there than he expects.

Except—Sarada didn't say anything about Sakura.

Sasuke mentally flips through every interaction they've had with the girl but can't find any definitive proof that Sarada has mentioned knowing Sakura in the future. She gave them future information earlier, but she didn't mention Sakura at all.

 _Does that mean…_ He has trouble forming the thought. _Does that mean the person I care about most—the person I have to kill to have eyes like Itachi is…Sakura?_

This time the discomfort in his gut is a knife-like nausea.

"Kakashi-sensei…" the pink-haired girl murmurs quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Now isn't the time," he replies, shaking his head. "We have to get out of here."

"You're barely able to sit up, let alone walk. I don't think we're going anywhere any time soon," Sarada points out.

"Besides, you already caught the teleporter with…whatever you did," Sakura adds. The determined expression on her face suggests focus, but her eyes are suspiciously guarded. "Unless he can escape?"

"No, that's impossible. Only I have access to that dimension."

"So it _is_ another dimension."

"Yes," Kakashi says, frowning a little at Sakura's uncharacteristic calm. "The technique is called _Kamui_. With great focus, I can shift objects or people and the surrounding space into a dimension that's connected to my Sharingan. But there's a drawback, obviously." He gestures weakly at his still limp body. He hasn't regained the sensation in his legs yet and his arms only marginally.

"Yeah, like the bleeding eye," Naruto mumbles. "I'm going to have nightmares…"

"It's kind of like a weaker version of what the teleporter can do," Sakura observes.

"The opposite, actually. In fact, until encountering our mysterious vanishing clone friend, I would have said _Kamui_ was more advanced as it doesn't require summoning seals or genetically engineered tattoos."

"He's a clone?" Sarada questions. "You're sure?"

"Oh, yes," Kakashi replies, grim. "Granted, I didn't see it right away, but once I got close enough I did. His looks are far too similar to Lord Fourth's to be coincidental—but the curse-seal and advanced technique suggest genetic modification."

"But he doesn't look a thing like the pictures I've seen of the Fourth Hokage," Sarada protests. "Besides, the—Naruto would've noticed, wouldn't he?"

"Huh?" Naruto blinks. "Why would I notice?"

Kakashi's eyes widen, and he opens his mouth to cut her off, but Sarada has already answered.

"Well, come on. He's your dad. I'm sure you'd recognise him," she rolls her eyes. Then she looks thoughtful. "Maybe not. You guys aren't great with the observation skills. Now or in my time, now that I—"

"My…dad?" Naruto repeats.

Another heavy silence fills the cavern and Sarada stills. She studies the myriad of expressions passing over the faces of her parents and uncles.

"Why are you looking at me like I've just told you something surprising?"

"Because you did," Kakashi tells her through gritted teeth.

Not that she can hear him because Naruto begins to shout.

"What do you mean, my dad? How do you know who my dad is? I don't even—but you said he's—but why wouldn't—?"

"Wait! Hold on! Back up!" Sakura interrupts almost as disbelieving as Naruto. Beside her, even Sasuke can't quite hide his dawning shock. "Are you trying to say that Naruto's father is—was—?"

"The Fourth Hokage?" Sasuke finishes.

Naruto looks like he's been turned to stone.

"You mean…" Sarada looks at the flabbergasted faces all around her and her cheeks pale. "You guys didn't _know_ that?"

"Sarada," Kakashi begins, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"What?"

"We talked about this."

"Hey, you said _future_ information!" she protests, her voice high-pitched in dismay. "This is _past_ information! Everyone knows the H—I mean, _Uncle Naruto_ , he always talks about his dad and how awesome he was. How was I supposed to—?"

"Stop talking. Just…don't say anything else for a minute while I—"

"Kakashi-sensei? You knew?" Naruto demands with words laced with hurt. "You knew my father was the Fourth Hokage? And you never said anything?!"

There's nothing for it now. Kakashi wonders exactly how many secrets will come out before the day is done.

 _Although_ _, this one should have come out much sooner,_ he maintains privately.

"Yes, Naruto. I've always known. Minato-sensei was my teacher—and for that reason, among others, I was assigned to become _your_ teacher."

"And you never told me!" Naruto shouts, on his feet with his fists clenched. There's a dangerous, animalistic flash in his eyes just then and Kakashi tenses up. Trapped in a tiny cavern with a limited air supply and severe exhaustion is not the ideal scenario to deal with Naruto channelling the Nine-Tails.

"I wasn't allowed," he replies, keeping his tone careful and even. "It was his wish—and Lord Third's—that you grow up safe. He was a great man, but he had a lot of enemies. If they had known about you—"

"What about my mother?" Naruto interrupts. "Did you know her, too?"

"Naruto," Kakashi warns.

"No! You need to tell me!" Naruto shouts. "Why does Sasuke get to find out about his family—family he doesn't even have yet—but I can't?!" He rounds on Sarada. "Do I talk about her? Who was she? What was her name? What did she—?"

He seizes Sarada by the shoulders, and she inhales sharply in pain.

Before Sasuke is aware of himself, he has darted forward and shoved Naruto away from the girl. "You idiot! Her shoulder!"

But Naruto barely notices. He clutches his stomach, feeling as if he is going to be sick—something ugly and hot claws at him from within. Everything he's ever known about his idol seems to be playing on a loop inside of his head.

"The Fourth…" Naruto says, eyes going unfocused. "He was the one who…"

His fingers fist into the fabric of his jacket, and Kakashi knows exactly what realisation he's just had: the Fourth Hokage was the one who sealed the Nine Tails Fox into Naruto. The boy has always known that, but to realise now that it was his father...

"Calm down," Kakashi cautions, trying to get to his feet but failing. "Just let me explain—"

"Don't you fucking touch me!" Naruto growls, betrayal and hurt radiating from him. He staggers away from them, fading into the shadows, and then he turns and runs. The darkness of the tunnel consumes him quickly and soon there is nothing but the sound of his footsteps getting farther away.

"Naruto!" Kakashi calls after him, but he is too helpless to move.

"The stupid half-wit is going to get himself lost," Sasuke mutters, pushing himself into a standing position as if he is resigned to going after him.

To his surprise, a hand reaches out to stop him.

"I've got it," Sakura says, though she doesn't look at him. In her hand, she brandishes a glow-stick. "I…don't think he'll want to talk to any of you right now." The tremble in her voice suggests she shares that sentiment.

"Sakura, that's not a good idea," Kakashi says. Although he doubts that even in a rage Naruto would hurt the girl, today is shaping up to be a day where the unthinkable comes to pass. Tempting fate would be unwise.

"Have you got a better one?" she challenges bluntly.

Before anyone can reply or move to stop her, she too disappears into the unknown.

ナルト

As Naruto and Sakura's footsteps fade into the distance, Sarada experiences a sinking sensation in her stomach.

"Oh, no…oh no, oh no, oh no! I didn't mean to!" she laments. "I'm so sorry! I thought—"

"It's fine, Sarada," Kakashi says, his tone weary. "I guess it was too much to hope we could keep everything quiet. Though that particular conversation was not one I was expecting to come up today."

"I shouldn't have said anything! Why did I just— Ugh!" Sarada grasps at her hair in frustration. "How am I ever supposed to be a great shinobi if I can't protect information?"

"Time travel isn't exactly something covered by shinobi laws," Kakashi points out. "The fact is, the longer we're all around each other, the more information will come out. It's what happens when you know someone really well." He tries to smile at her. "Even if you don't realise you know that person well."

"Yeah, right. Tell that to my dad," Sarada mutters. "He's a champion at not telling people things."

Kakashi coughs and Sarada winces.

 _Damn it! I did it again_ , she berates herself.

Again, she forgot that she's not sitting down at Uncle Kakashi's kitchen table to complain about her mother accidentally breaking their house or her father's frequent absences. This Kakashi doesn't possess years of parenting experience—has probably never had his students come to him for emotional problems.

Especially not to this surly, younger version of her father sitting right beside her.

Thankfully, this Sasuke is different enough from her father that she doesn't feel embarrassed or caught out at talking about him behind his back.

 _Or… in front of him_ , she reflects, noting that time travel really plays havoc with grammar.

As it is, he doesn't even seem to notice her say anything. He's been disturbingly quiet since his impromptu intervention with Naruto. In fact, almost as soon as he helped her, he put at least three feet of space between them.

 _He's not even looking at me,_ she realises _. In fact, I don't think he's looked straight at me since we talked about the fate of the Uchiha clan._

That hurts more than she'd like, and so she feels a spring of hope when he does finally glance in her direction.

"There's something I need you to tell me," Sasuke tells her matter-of-factly. Her shoulders slump a bit—he's addressing her, but he's looking at his sensei.

"Just because I said we can't keep everything under wraps doesn't mean you should go asking questions about the future," Kakashi warns.

"I have no interest in my future self, if that's what you're worried about. She exists," he says, nodding his head in Sarada's direction, but otherwise not acknowledging her, "therefore, I achieve everything I plan to."

Sarada tries not to feel like she's been slapped in the face. His words are flat and overly rational as if he's commenting on something as everyday as the weather. There's no trace of the man she knows, the one who stayed away from his family to keep them safe.

Her mind offers up a bittersweet memory.

 _"Do you think that your heart is truly connected to Mama's?"_

 _"…Yeah."_

 _"But how can you be so certain about that?"_

 _"Because we have you, Sarada."_

If she asked him the same question now, she can't even guess what he'd say; she suspects she doesn't want to.

"If I don't find out now, there could be repercussions on my performance for the rest of the mission. And possibly future missions," Sasuke continues to explain, his voice measured and detached.

Kakashi narrows his eyes. "This has to do with the Mangekyō."

"Yes."

"It's not a good idea."

"The only way to achieve my revenge is to gain the Mangekyō. There's only one way to do it," Sasuke continues, ignoring him. "I need to know."

Sarada shakes her head, disbelieving. "You're talking about murder like it's nothing." She remembers what Kakashi said earlier and clenches her fists. "Both of you."

"That's not—" Sasuke begins and, for the first time, he seems to lose his composure because he swallows heavily. "That's not why I'm asking."

"Oh yeah? Then why are you asking? And what makes you think I can tell you anything anyway? I didn't know anything about the Mangekyō Sharingan except that it existed. _My father_ never told me." It seems important that this Sasuke understand she doesn't consider him to be the same person. "I guess he doesn't want me killing the people I care about so I can be more powerful."

Now, he finally looks at her and his Sharingan bores into her with something like grief. But that can't be it, right?

"Earlier you mentioned all of us—Kakashi, Naruto and me," he bites out through gritted teeth. As he did with Kakashi, he ignores her words, powering through to whatever it is he so desperately wants to find out. "You said nothing about Sakura. Do you not… Is she still alive in your time?"

"Sasuke," Kakashi warns.

Sarada wants to imagine he's asking because he cares. She wants to believe the best—that he's concerned he might lose one of his teammates; that maybe he does care about Sakura and this is his roundabout way of asking if she's still in his life. Except she's seen enough of this Sasuke to suspect that's not it. He is such a dark, damaged boy.

"Do you actually care?" she snaps. "Or are you just worried about the trouble you'll get in if you need to kill your friend? Then again, I guess it's not something you really care about, considering."

He narrows his eyes. "You don't understand what you're talking about."

But Sarada isn't having any of that. She's kept her mouth shut the whole day and she has a bone or two to pick with her father.

She jabs a finger at him. "I've seen how you treat her. All day, you've acted like she's beneath you. And that makes it hard for me to trust that you care about what happens to her. You care more about killing people—like my uncle, which you still never explained, by the way! So how do I know that if I say Sakura's dead, you won't decide to kill her now so you can get a stronger Sharingan?" There's a sharp intake of breath, but she doesn't pay attention to whether it comes from Sasuke or Kakashi. "How do I know that if I say she's alive, you won't tell me to list the people you care about so that you can try to kill them?"

"Because you already said everyone else I care about is still alive!" Sasuke explodes. Sarada freezes, not expecting him to say anything like that. Judging from his face, he didn't expect it either. His eyes dart to Kakashi then back to her; his expression hardens.

"You're right. You're not cut out to be a shinobi," he snarls, stalking away. "You should've kept your damn mouth shut."

"Don't get mad at me because you don't like what I have to say! Or in this case, what _you_ have to say!"

But he's already gone, taken off in the direction Naruto and Sakura disappeared into.

As soon as his back retreats into the darkness, realisation hits Sarada and her head falls into her uninjured hand.

"I'm an idiot," she mutters. "I did it again. What is _wrong_ with me?"

"If I were to hazard a guess," Kakashi remarks lightly, "while it seems you inherited your parents' best qualities, you've obviously inherited their worst ones as well. Namely, their tempers."

"I didn't even realise Papa _had_ a temper."

"Oh, it's not as obvious as your mother's, but it's there. And they're both the worst sort of impulsive—ironically enough, Naruto isn't the one most guided by his emotions on this squad."

Sarada sighs. "Is that how you figured it out?"

"Well, that and I'm a little more observant than three genin are, even if one of them possesses the Sharingan," Kakashi says.

"When did you realise?"

"I suspected who your father was before we came to check this place out. After that…well, I look at both your parents daily. I can pick their features out on your face now that I'm looking for it. And most people aren't so aware of their own physical traits that they'd notice them in someone else. Which is why none of them noticed yet."

"That or they just don't care to look," Sarada grumbles, reflecting on Sasuke's strictly utilitarian view of the world. "He's seriously supposed to be a genius?"

Kakashi chuckles. "Definitely an interesting dynamic between you two."

"It's not—I didn't mean…" Sarada attempts, and then sighs. "I've never spoken to my father this way. Well, except for that one time, but he deserved it."

"Oh, he deserved it in this case, too."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. But in this time, we all tend to have a blind spot when it comes to your father."

"I don't get why. He's a jerk."

"Keep in mind that he's likely a very different person from who he's going to be in your time."

"Oh, trust me, I get that. Completely different. I mean, still a jerk, but…but he cares about people." He cares about her and her mother. He's friends with Naruto, and respects Kakashi, and he's a good teacher to Boruto from what she's seen.

"Sasuke— _our_ Sasuke—cares, too. He's just gotten so good at repressing it, only the people who see him every day can feel it."

Sarada fights the temptation to cross her arms—mostly because she can't.

"I'm sure you've heard enough about your father to understand his childhood wasn't an easy one. It's only been five years since he lost his entire family," Kakashi explains. "And it's very recently that he had another run-in with his brother. He nearly died." Sarada opens her mouth. "No. I will not tell you about any of that. Sakura was right earlier—if your parents didn't tell you the story, it means it's a conversation you're meant to have with them when they decide you're ready."

Sarada pouts. "I hate it when you do that."

"Do what?"

"Act all logical and stuff. It's the only thing that's the same."

Kakashi exhales. "Which brings me to the other issue. You and I need to go over a few things you're not allowed to talk about."

"You couldn't have done this hours ago?" she deadpans.

"I honestly hoped we would discover the reason for our spontaneous time travel before it became an issue," he replies, apologetic. "As it is, I will need to use a Memory Erasing Seal when this is all over. We all possess far too much knowledge about the future."

"You can do that?!"

"Yes. In fact, it's a technique Lord Fourth taught me."

"Then why did you make such a big deal about me not saying anything?" Sarada growls. "I've been beating myself up all day trying not to give away too much, and you can just make everyone forget?!"

"It's not so simple. The more you reveal, the more elaborate the seal will need to be—and the more potential it has to lose effectiveness over time. It really is essential that we keep the information exchange to a minimum."

"While you're at it, is there some kind of seal you can use on me to keep me from saying anything else?" Sarada beseeches. "I don't want to screw up again."

"The only technique I'm familiar with would be tied to the user's life-force—in this case, mine. I'd be required to die before you could speak freely. Somehow, I doubt that's the best solution to our problem."

"Um…no."

"So, as I said before, we need to agree on a few things that are imperative you not to talk about."

"Okay."

"First of all, there are some village secrets that may or may not have come out by your time, but you need to keep quiet about them now."

"Like the fact that Naruto is a jinchūriki?"

"Yes. Like that," Kakashi replies severely. "That would be one of those things you don't mention to the others. They haven't been told the truth and, village secret aside, I can't risk the information affecting their teamwork."

"Got it."

"Also, I'm sure you understand why I'm going to say this, but we should keep your mother's identity quiet. I don't think any of them could handle it right now."

 _That's an understatement,_ Sarada decides _. This version of Mama might explode her head or something. Or spend the rest of the mission making cow eyes at Sasuke._

She feels a little disloyal, advocating keeping such a thing secret. Based on how Sakura's been acting since everyone found about Sarada's connection to Sasuke, it's clear she's in pain. Sarada doesn't want to hurt her mother, but at the same time, nothing in the other girl's behaviour suggests the kind of maturity needed to accept the truth.

"I agree," she says with a sigh. "I don't like it, but I get it."

"Good," Kakashi says. "Now, it goes without saying that you can't mention…"

His words wash over her, outlining the topics she has to keep from speaking about. Against her will, her eyes drift to the tunnel where her parents and Naruto disappeared into.

Not for the first time does she wish it were their adult versions here with her.

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	11. Chapter Nine

Naruto doesn't pay attention to where he's going. All that matters is not being anywhere near his wide-eyed teammates, his lying sensei, or the strange girl who knows more about him than he ever did.

 _How could they keep this from me? How could they not tell me?_

It's not only Kakashi or the Third Hokage, either. Iruka would know, and even though he understood what it was like to grow up without parents, he never had the decency to tell Naruto.

Deep within him, Naruto imagines that he hears laughter.

 _Shut up, you stupid fox_ , he orders.

 _You're calling me stupid? That's a bit ironic,_ the demon sneers. _You're the thick-head who couldn't figure out that people were lying to you your whole life._

Naruto freezes.

The fox is right.

 _This means Granny Tsunade knows…and Shizune…and Pervy Sage, too, I bet. I mean, he said I reminded him of the Fourth, and now I get it. And he never said!_

Tears blur his vision which is already useless in the dark and winding passages beneath the ground. Naruto desperately wishes he were in the forest or in the village, where he could see where he was going and disappear into his surroundings. He can't, though, and before long, he's walked himself into a dead end.

Naruto punches the wall in frustration. Not for the first time in his life, he wants to be completely invisible. He wants to be allowed to crawl away and lick his wounds because this hurts.

 _It does, doesn't it,_ the fox growls. _Wouldn't you like to make them hurt, too?_

"Shut up," Naruto whispers, shaking the voice away.

His hero—the legend he looked up to in his dreams, the man he's pretended to be whenever he imagined becoming Hokage—is the same bastard who sealed a demon inside of him. He's the same man who Naruto has hated and cussed out since Mizuki told him the truth.

And he's his father.

"Some father. What kind of sadistic creep does that to his own kid?" Naruto growls, punching the craggy walls again. "Was that what he wanted?" _Punch_. "For people to hate me?" _Punch_. "For me to never have friends?" _Punch._ "For people to lie to me my whole life?" _Punch._

Because that's what it amounts to.

His whole life, people looked at him with contempt or fear, and he always did his best to make them see him differently. And now he finally has teachers and teammates who accept him, but it turns out all the people he looks up to were keeping this from him.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he hisses to the darkness, to his absent father—to anyone or anything that will listen.

"Naruto?"

He whirls around, shoulders hunched, half-expecting an attack. Instead, he sees Sakura lingering by the mouth of the tunnel he's wandered into, looking uncertain. In the light of the glow stick in her hand, he notices that her eyes are glassy, and there are smudges trailing through the dirt on her face.

She's been crying.

A moment later, he realises the reason these details are so obvious to him is because of the dark chakra bubbling up inside him. The fox is making his senses more acute, the way it does when his anger gets too strong.

"Go away," he says, speaking to both the creature trying to use his emotions against him and the pink-haired girl.

"You're bleeding," she says, disregarding his order and taking a few steps forward.

Naruto grits his teeth, ignoring the flurry of unwanted, vicious thoughts that project through his brain.

 _Rip, slash, bite, tear, taste, kill –_

 _Shut up!_ Naruto yells at the Nine-Tails. He doesn't care how angry he is right now, he won't lash out at his friend. Especially not when she is so obviously in her own kind of pain.

"I'll be fine," he tells her. "You should go back. I…need some time."

"We don't have time," Sakura tells him dully. "The longer we're down here, the more…the more we might learn. Things we don't want to."

"You mean there's something worse than finding out you've been lied to your whole life?" Naruto barks out, allowing himself a bitter laugh. "I don't see it getting worse than that."

"You can't be sure if that's how it happened," Sakura tells him. "Maybe there was a reason? Maybe in some weird, really messed-up way, everyone was trying to protect you?"

"That's complete and utter bullshit!" he roars, stalking forward until they are face to face. "Trying to protect me? They made it worse! If the Third and the—and my _father_ —were still alive, I'd punch them both for what they did! Because I wasn't safe, or protected, or…or anything! Because of them, I didn't even get to know where I came from! I didn't get to hear stories about my family or my parents, or know their names or even have pictures so I could pretend that I knew them! I couldn't even ask them why…why I was…"

He can't manage words for a moment and busies himself with angrily swiping at the tears and snot mingling on his face. Sakura thankfully says nothing.

"Because of them, I grew up alone," he croaks. "If people knew I was the Fourth Hokage's son, I might still be alone, but at least the entire village wouldn't hate me."

"The entire village doesn't hate you," Sakura protests. "Lord Third didn't, and Iruka-sensei, and Teuchi and Ayame, and Konohamaru, and—"

"That's now. It wasn't always like that."

"I didn't hate you."

"You used to!"

"No, I didn't. I just thought you were annoying," she says, uncomfortable even with that truth. "And it's not like you made an effort not to be."

"That doesn't make what people did right!"

"No." Sakura's agreement is firm, unquestionable. "They shouldn't have done that. If anything, because you're the Fourth Hokage's son, they should have protected you more. I don't understand why they didn't do that."

 _Because I have a demon inside me_ , Naruto doesn't say. That's all he needs today is to lose his teammates by confessing that particular little gem.

"But as bad as their reasons were—whatever they were—I don't think anyone did that because they wanted you to be miserable," Sakura tells him. "You remember what Lord Third was like. He wasn't a bad person. And he cared about you a lot. You know he didn't hate you, right?"

Which—yes, she has a point. The old man was the only person who ever looked out for Naruto. He always figured it was because he was Hokage and he _needed_ to look out for him. But Old Man Third could've easily sent an aide to deliver groceries or the monthly allowance to Naruto. He didn't need to take care of it personally.

"And if you think about it," Sakura goes on, "Sara…Sarada said you—the future you—talks about your father all the time. Like you know him. It's possible, in the future, that you do. So, you were never _not_ going to find out. You just haven't found out yet. Or maybe you were supposed to find out this way." Naruto can't help a soft, somewhat bitter chuckle. _Trust Sakura to see the bright side in this whole thing._ "And what if—somehow, some way—he isn't really dead?"

"He's the hero of the village. Someone would have noticed him walking around, don't you think?"

"I guess. But, if you think about it… Well, look at today for example: Sarada's from the future—or, we're from the past and we travelled to the future. The point is, time travel's possible. It might be, in the future, that you travel in time—or your dad travels in time—and you get to meet. Possibly even yell at him a bit for whatever you're so angry with him about."

Naruto's heart lifts a little at this. "You think so?"

"Yeah, I do," Sakura vows. "And if not…well, if time travel's possible, people coming back from the dead might be possible, too. So someday…"

"Someday…" Naruto repeats.

And for the first time since the truth came spilling out, he notices another emotion rising up in him that he hadn't noticed before—a giddy, trembling sensation that was too swamped by the pain and anger. Now, it's like the fluttering of a tiny butterfly against his stomach lining.

Because now he knows something, the answer to a question that's been plaguing him his entire life.

He had parents once. He had a father. And his father was one of the greatest shinobi from Konoha.

He jumps when soft hands take his own, and he notices that Sakura is examining his knuckles.

"Huh. I guess you didn't hit them as hard as I imagined," she remarks, flashing a brittle smile. "You won't even need bandages for this. Which is a good thing because I don't have any left."

He flexes his fingers, taking in the slightly elastic tug of new skin.

"Are you going to be alright?"

Naruto snorts, because he's _really_ not, but Sakura's got a point. They don't have time to dwell. There's a mysterious time-altering bubble still heading for the village; a future version of Konohamaru is still unaccounted for, along with the rest of Sarada's team; and, of course, there's a teleporting clone with a curse-seal sitting in an alternate dimension somewhere who might be the solution to all of that.

So, he pastes a grin on his face. "I'm the son of the Fourth Hokage. I'll deal."

"You can't wait to get home and rub everyone's face in it, can you?" Sakura asks, only joking a little.

"Hell yes! But we have to get out of here first."

"Which is kind of a problem. With all of Kakashi-sensei's markers buried under the cave-in, we could wander around here for days if we're not careful."

"I guess," Naruto mutters, and then squints around him. "There's a lot of tunnels around here. Must've taken forever to build." He scratches his head. "I mean, do you think he does it on purpose? Orochimaru? Like, does he look for hideouts because they have a bunch of tunnels he can slither around in or does he actually build them that way on purpose and then just abandon them after he's done?"

Sakura glances around as well then shudders. "It looked like the entrance was built. The rest of this place is natural. Probably left over lava tubes or erosion or something—a lot of the area around Konoha used to be part of a volcanic chain."

"What?" Naruto squeaks nervously, pushing away from the walls of the cave. " _Volcano_?"

"Relax. They've all been dormant for hundreds of thousands of years. Honestly, didn't you ever pay attention in class?"

"Why would I? It's not like there are volcano ninjas."

"I wonder if that's why Orochimaru chose it," Sakura continues, lightly placing a hand against the walls of the tunnel. "All these passages created by underground explosions. It's old and powerful—fits his psychological profile, anyway. He's not exactly subtle when it comes to symbolism."

"I have no idea what you just said," Naruto tells her, but he sounds admiring. "How do you know all this stuff?"

Sakura shrugs, a little embarrassed. "I looked him up a bit. Or a lot. After the Chūnin Exam, and after what he did to…" She trails off, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. "Anyway, it seemed like I should find out more about him. It's not like I can do anything else. I'm not strong, like you guys."

She pulls back from the wall, her fingers clenching into a fist.

"I always suspected I wasn't good enough," she whispers, more to himself than to him, "but I told myself that if I got stronger and stayed determined, if I wasn't negative and I really tried that I'd eventually—"

"Don't be stupid. You're good enough," Naruto interrupts. "In fact, I think you're way too good for him." Sakura stares at him in surprise. "Come on. It's obvious. And the grouchy bastard thinks _I'm_ the dumb one? Hah!" He juts his chin out in challenge. "It's his loss if he doesn't realise how cool you are."

Sakura lets out a small giggle. "You're just saying that because you don't want me to hit you or something."

"Nuh-uh! Okay, a little, but that doesn't change the fact that you're awesome. And who knows—it's like you were saying about the future, we can't be sure, right? I bet someday you finally agree to go on a date with me, and then _we_ start dating, and maybe even get married!"

Sakura bites her lip. "Naruto…"

"It'd be so great! We can go on missions together and join ANBU and be totally badass! And when I'm Hokage, no one will make fun of your forehead anymore. I'll even make a law about it." She can't seem to stop herself from smiling here. "And you wouldn't have to cook, which is great because you can't anyway—"

"Hey!"

"—so we'd just go to Ichiraku all the time. And you'd become a teacher or something, seeing as how you're so smart and how you like to help people and stuff," he finishes. "See? It might not be so bad, the future."

Sakura sniffs, holding back a sob. "It sounds really nice."

"Yeah?"

But she's not looking at him.

"You're a good person, Naruto," Sakura tells him gently. "But—"

Naruto tries to ignore the feeling of his stomach sinking.

 _Damn it, I shouldn't have said anything!_

He interrupts her. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. But that's _now_! You might not feel the same way forever, right? We're only thirteen, so things could change."

Sakura bites her lip again, and to Naruto's disappointment, she shakes her head.

"I'm sorry. It's just… I can't see you that way. You're my best friend—guy friend, anyway."

Naruto makes a face. "Great."

"More like a brother."

"That's not any better."

"A brother who I trust more than anyone else in the world," Sakura continues apologetically. "And who always makes me want to do better. And if anyone makes you feel bad about yourself again, they'll have me to deal with. But I…"

She trails off, like there are more words waiting in the wings, but they hurt too much to say. It's not just her pain she's worried about either, but his. Which is Sakura all over, really. She doesn't like to hurt people, and ever since that day when they were assigned to the same team, she's made a huge effort to be nice to him.

The occasional beating aside when he says something stupid (or what she thinks is stupid, anyway), Sakura is one of the people who stands up for him—at least when she thinks he's out of earshot. She yelled at the apothecary last week for making snide comments and overcharging him.

"Okay, that's a little better—the second part, anyway," Naruto allows dully, although he's not particularly happy about the confirmation his crush will stay unrequited. He's always sort of known deep down, but… "But it still sucks. You're the only girl in the village who doesn't mind hanging out with me. Even when we're not on missions."

"Oh, come on. No, I'm not."

"No, see, this is why you have to take pity and date me," Naruto says, struck by a sudden flash of insight. "Otherwise, I'm doomed to be alone the rest of my life. You wouldn't do that to me, would you, Sakura?"

He's only half joking.

Instead of taking pity on him, though, Sakura just snorts.

"You're an idiot," she tells him bluntly.

"Hey!"

"You _are_. Hinata has been following you around since before we were at the Academy. You've just been too busy making trouble and shouting about being Hokage to realise."

Naruto stares at her, brain trying to register the information she's giving him. It doesn't make any sense. "Huh?"

"She _likes_ you, dummy."

 _Weird, mumbling, shy Hinata? The heiress to one of Konoha's most important and powerful clans? Likes_ me _?_

"No way."

"Way. Don't you ever wonder why she passes out so often around you?"

Well, yeah, he does, but he supposed she just had low blood sugar or something. Nothing to do with…

 _Actually_ , he casts his mind back across the years, _she's always been so nice. I always assumed it was just because she was a good person, but…she's never looked at me the same way as everyone else. With that hate in her eyes._

He shifts uncomfortably, feeling his ears turning warm. "Stop messing with me."

"I'm not. Everyone's noticed, even Sasuke, and he never notices stuff…like…that."

Her temporarily upbeat mood promptly disappears. Naruto hurries to get it back.

"You're dreaming," he informs her, hands on his hips. "And to prove it, when we get back, I'm gonna take Hinata out for ramen and ask her. You can come along, too, and see how much you have no idea what you're talking about."

Sakura allows herself a small smile. "Okay, if you say so."

"And afterwards, I'm going to help you get over this whole messed-up future thing."

She makes a face. "It's not messed up. It's just…strange to imagine Sasuke having a daughter."

"Hey, it's weird to imagine of any of us having kids," Naruto corrects. "Well…I can sort of picture you having kids, but me and Sasuke? It's like I said, no one's ever going to want to be with me—"

"—Hinata—" Sakura pretends to cough.

"—and I never really figured Sasuke even _liked_ girls, if you get what I mean."

"Naruto!"

"No! Come on! I'm serious! He's totally clueless about them!"

"You have no right to say that," she giggles.

"Unless some miracle happens in the future and he suddenly turns into some kind of…of... What's the word for a guy who has a lot of girlfriends?"

"A player?"

"That's it!"

"That would never happen."

"It might. I mean he has a daughter, so it obviously happens at least once."

"Thanks for that mental image," Sakura mutters.

"Do you figure it's only her? Or are there more?" Naruto wonders, and a moment later, looks properly horrified. "Oh no! What if we've stepped into some kind of nightmarish future where Sasuke has like twenty kids running around—all mini versions of him!"

Sakura lets out a short laugh. "And he married Ino."

Naruto sniggers. "And he became Hokage."

They stare at each other.

"This isn't funny anymore."

"Yeah, I think I'm feeling worse now."

ナルト

"Should I go look for them?"

Sarada fidgets, anxious from inactivity; Kakashi may need to languish here recovering his strength, but she is tempted to find the genin members of Team 7. She wants to ensure Sakura and Naruto are all right, and there's even a part of her that wants to check on her surly teenaged father.

"We've already split up far more than I would advise," Kakashi replies. "If you disappear now, we would definitely have a problem. We can't even be sure if Sasuke went the same way as the others, or off on his own." He sighs. "This has been one of those missions where no one ever listens to me."

"I take it that happens a lot?"

"You'd think they'd have learned their lesson by now. The last time, Sasuke and Naruto ended up glued together for three days."

Sarada can't help the inelegant snort of laughter. Even in her time, as close as her father and Lord Seventh are, they can't be around each other for more than an hour or two. After that, one or both of them are ready to throw punches.

"And how'd that go?"

"Ever seen what happens with a snake when it's born with two heads?" Sarada grimaces at the imagery. "It was like that only without the actual decapitation—though I'm pretty sure if they'd had another day of it…" Kakashi looks amused, exasperated, and thoughtful all at once which is quite an accomplishment for someone whose face is half-covered by a mask. "You may get to see that if we don't get out of this place sooner rather than later. Neither Sasuke nor Naruto have the most patience, and I'm not looking forward to any more cave-ins while we're down here."

"Sorry about that," Sarada says, glancing at the wall of rock behind them and wincing. "How can you be sure we'll find a way out, anyhow? All of your markers are on the other side of that, aren't they?"

"There will be a way out," Kakashi reassures her. "Based on Orochimaru's personality alone, there has to be. He's known for always having an escape route. If we take into account the experimentation going on in that lab, I bet he had more than a few secret exits created. It's only a matter of finding one."

"So summon another dog to sniff out one."

"That's an option. But it won't be to get us out of here right away. There's something more important that needs doing."

"Like?"

"Like bringing our ghost-clone friend back out," he explains. "It will take a lot of chakra to open the portal again. I might not be ready for a while, and even if I manage it, I won't be strong enough to deal with him once he's out. We need to find a secure location, somewhere with enough room to build wards that can hold him while we question him. At the same time, I don't want to do it out in the open. Too much can go wrong."

"So, we need to see if there's another chamber or something down here."

"Exactly."

"How do you know he's still, you know, _in there_?"

"Other than the fact that nothing can get in or out without my knowing it? I put a tracking mark on him when we fought, just in case he pulled another disappearing act. If he had managed to get away again, I would've been able to follow his location."

"That would've been useful to help us find a way out of here, too," Sarada sighs. "So, can you walk yet?"

"Uh…" Kakashi glances down at his legs as if he has to address them to figure out the answer, and then replies, "No."

"I don't get it—my father never gets as weak as you do when he uses his Space-Time jutsu," she grumbles. Off his narrow-eyed expression, she defends herself, "I didn't say what he can do or anything. Just that he's got his own…thing that he does."

"And let's keep it as vague as that. It's not information I want the Sasuke of today having. Whatever his ability, your father still experiences some kind of exhaustion?"

"Yeah, a bit."

"It's worse for me because I don't have the Uchiha bloodline to draw power from. I tire easily when I use the advanced capabilities of my Sharingan."

"You're not kidding! Did you really have to use that _Kamui_ thing then? Was he that strong?"

"With time, and if I didn't have to worry about you four, I might've managed. But I was already lagging, and if he didn't use that as a chance to take you all out, he might've teleported away when he started to tire."

"And then we'd have to worry about another surprise attack later," Sarada realises. Kakashi would not take the chance of another encounter that could lead to his squad being wounded or killed.

"Exactly."

"Why is he so powerful anyway? My teammate—he said it had something to with that weird rash."

Kakashi's eyes become hard. "The curse seal."

"He called it that, too, but we were attacked before he could explain it."

"If your teammate is your age, I'd question how he could know anything about curse seals. I guess in the next twenty years more research is done on the subject."

"Which I _actually_ can't tell you about because I've never heard of them," Sarada declares. She's relieved that at least there is _something_ she isn't going to accidentally reveal. "But what's the short version?"

"It's a particular trademark of Orochimaru. The brand increases chakra levels and physical capabilities when the subject activates it."

"…but?" She isn't so young as to not realise that everything comes with a price.

"There's a nine-in-ten chance of dying during the marking process. And those who survive tend to experience fits of rage and mental instability, to an extent," Kakashi explains. "That's all we know right now based on the information gathered from the only two survivors we have access to."

"So _that's_ why he's so angry and crazy—"

"Angry and crazy? Bet you're talking about Sasuke."

Kakashi and Sarada glance up at the two shapes illuminated by the light of a glow stick. Naruto has his hands in his pockets, looking more reminiscent of his brooding teammate than the cheery boy Sarada has become familiar with. Although he has a small smirk on his face, there's a harder edge to it than usual.

"Don't be mean," Sakura orders, nugding him lightly with her shoulder. She offers Kakashi a wan smile. "Look who I found."

"Sorry I ran off," Naruto says, scuffing his feet against the cave floor.

Kakashi pulls himself up as straight as possible and fixes the blond boy with a softened gaze.

"Naruto. I want to apologise," he says. "Not mentioning your father to you—it wasn't just done for the reasons you think."

Sakura looks mystified, but from the set of Naruto's jaw, Sarada suspects Kakashi is referring to the Nine-Tails within him.

She has never encountered the demon herself, outside of its energy, but her father has.

"A raging ball of negative energy and dark intent, only kept in check because of its respect for Naruto," he told her once—it was not long after the incident with the Shin Uchiha clones. "I hope the situation never arises where you have to deal with such a power that has been so corrupted."

This advice from your average parent might sound like concern in the face of some fearful monster, but with her father, it was more cryptic warning laced with double meaning—like most of what he says. Sarada gets the sense that while her father might not fear the Nine-Tails, he certainly respects it. That itself is enough to make her wary as well.

"Lord Fourth had many enemies," Kakashi continues. "If people outside of the village found out you were Minato's son, you would've been in danger."

"It's fine, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto says without the usual upbeat note in his voice. "Following the Hokage's orders, right? If the Old Man and Granny Tsunade and my…my _father_ told you not to say anything, what else were you supposed to do?"

Kakashi blinks, obviously having not expected that.

"So, I'm not mad at you," Naruto continues, before looking fierce. "But me and Granny are going to have _words_ when I'm allowed to remember all this."

Kakashi and Sarada are both surprised by that comment, but Sakura shrugs.

"We talked about it on the way back here," she says, her tone a little duller than normal as well. "It makes the most sense that at some point we'll have to forget all of this." She shoots an undecipherable glance at Sarada. "It looks like none of us can actually keep a secret from each other. Just acting like we don't know what's coming in the future probably won't happen. So, the safest option is to forget, right?"

"We'll cross that bridge when the time comes," Kakashi tells her.

"Yeah," Naruto sighs then fixes Kakashi with a pleading look. "But can I just… I mean, for right now, can I… Did you know my mom, too?"

Sarada's heart breaks a little at this. She knows exactly what Naruto is feeling right now, and it takes all her of her willpower not to go over there and hug him. He probably wouldn't know how to react.

Kakashi, too, appears to be having some difficulty because he swallows convulsively a few times before nodding.

"Just for right now," he tells Naruto quietly and the boy's face lights up. "Her name was Kushina. Kushina Uzumaki."

"So I…I got her name then?"

"Mmhm."

"What—what was she like? What were they both like?"

Sarada and Sakura listen in as well, curious expressions mirroring one another.

"Looking at you always reminds me of Minato and Kushina from back then," Kakashi admits and then chuckles lightly. "Minato never wore quite that shade of orange, though. But otherwise, you look exactly like him."

"And my mom?"

"She had the same face shape as you and the same smile. But her hair was red, and that came out in her personality. Which is another trait you share."

Tears pour unabashedly over Naruto's cheeks, but he makes no move to wipe them. Sarada feels her own eyes become a little damp as well.

 _So all along…Lord Seventh knew how I was feeling that day._

She spent so many years wondering about her father, trying to understand why he wasn't in her life or how she was connected to him. She might have had photographs and hazy memories, but it always felt as if a huge chunk of her was missing.

Mama has never been able to completely get what that feels like, and even though Boruto does to a certain extent…it's not the same.

Naruto lived the same thing—only worse.

And he handled her feelings in much the same way as Kakashi is doing right now. She wonders if, somehow, that means they'll remember after all.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Naruto murmurs, "thank you."

Kakashi's eyes are gentle.

"One day, when the time is right, I'll tell you everything I remember about your parents," he promises. "But right now, our priority has to be getting out of here."

"And getting you off your ass," Naruto chuckles, though it comes out as the tail end of a sob.

"That'd be nice. Yeah."

Sakura gasps and digs into her pouch. "I just remembered! I grabbed some of them before when we were helping Sarada." She holds out several of the pellet-like replenishment pills. "Will they help you?"

"They won't hurt," Kakashi agrees, reaching out to take them.

He moves to pull his mask down, and suddenly, Naruto and Sakura are both leaning close, their eyes riveted to his face. Just before he can remove it, however, the glow stick in Sakura's hand sputters and goes out.

"Damn it!" Naruto curses while Sakura hangs her head with a groan.

Sarada is momentarily confused by their outbursts. Squinting through the dark at Kakashi, she notices the wide grin there—a rare but not entirely unknown sight to her—and a conspiratorial wink.

Then she remembers.

 _Of course. They haven't seen him without his mask on._

Even in her time, she knows it's a source of unending curiosity for her parents and uncle. Sarada's mother has made odd excuses to check Uncle Kakashi's temperature, while Lord Seventh even tried to pass a statute making masks illegal in Konoha. Her father pretends he's above it, of course. Somehow, though, whenever they have Kakashi over for dinner, he lingers far too close to his former sensei than would be considered polite. Sarada has caught him peeking with his Sharingan when he thinks no one is watching.

Another glow stick snaps open, revealing Kakashi again, mask still intact.

"Is it some kind of bloodline ability?" Sakura asks, squinting at Kakashi in the dark.

"It's got to be," Naruto agrees.

Kakashi appears perplexed. "Hm?"

"N-nothing!" the genin chorus.

"In any case," Kakashi clears his throat, "did either of you notice any possible exits while you were on your own?"

"Yeah, there's a bunch of other tunnels," Naruto says. "A lot of dead-ends, too. So…" He trails off, looking around with a frown. "Hey, wait a minute. Where's Sasuke?"

"He went off a little while after you did," Sarada answers. "Uh, probably in a different direction, I guess."

"We have to go after him!" Sakura declares. "He could be in trouble, or hurt, or lost, or—"

"Behind you," a familiar voice drawls.

Sasuke appears behind his teammates, hands in his pockets, looking as surly as ever.

"Sasuke! Are you all right?" Sakura asks, reaching out to him before she seems to remember herself and pulls back. She holds her hand to her chest, uncertain, and asks, "Where'd you go?"

"To find a way out," he replies, although he doesn't look at her. In fact, he's avoiding everyone's gaze except Naruto's. It's almost as if he thinks the blond boy is the safest one to speak to right now.

Sarada almost feels sorry for him.

"Did you find one?" Naruto prompts.

"There's one tunnel that sounds and smells like it leads to water. If we follow it, we might end up outside."

"Or it's an underground river with no actual exit," Sarada counters. "Which doesn't help me find my team."

"You still think they're alive after all this time?" Sasuke speculates.

Sarada glares. That bit of sympathy she just felt disappears as soon as it appeared.

"Unlike you, my heart is connected to the people I care about," she retorts. "I would know if they were dead."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"Twenty years from now you won't think so."

"Sarada," Kakashi warns.

"Sorry."

Sakura clears her throat nervously, obviously taking on the job of cutting the tension. Sarada gets the sense that it's a habitual role of hers.

"Can we just make a decision? Not that I like the idea of following an underground river or stream to somewhere we don't know, but it's the only idea I've heard so far to get out of here."

There's a sudden _poof_ and, without warning, Pakkun appears out of thin air several inches above Naruto's head. Sakura shrieks in surprise while Sasuke jerks slightly before recovering himself.

"Ack!" Naruto and the dog topple to the ground. "What the hell?"

"Sorry, kid," the tiny pug grunts, picking himself up and shaking his entire body. "The trip was a little rougher than usual."

"I'm not surprised," Kakashi remarks. "We're stuck in some sort of time bubble."

"Ah. _Now_ it makes sense."

"I was wondering about that when you summoned Pakkun before," Sarada speaks up. "He's the one from your time, not mine. But you're in my time right now, so shouldn't future-Pakkun be the one showing up?

"It doesn't work that way," Pakkun tells her, cocking his head to one side as he studies her. "Summoning is a contract with blood and soul. My pack and I are tied to Kakashi's current self. His future self could no more summon me than my future self could summon this version of Kakashi."

"But why?"

"It actually makes sense, if you know anything about biology," Sakura points out. "A lot of the cells in the human body replenish themselves every few years. So, a blood contract depends on the blood you use right at the time when you do the summoning. I guess it keeps you, um, linear?"

The dog huffs. "Way to break down the mystery behind a centuries-old ritual, kid."

"My head hurts," Naruto groans.

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	12. Chapter Ten

"Anyhow," Pakkun turns his attention to Kakashi. "Lady Tsunade is doing as you suggested. She sent out whatever squads were in Konoha to surround the bubble. They're keeping tabs on how fast it's growing and making sure no one else goes inside or comes out."

"Good," Kakashi says. "Since it's a gateway to another time, we don't want more people crossing over than we already have. When you go back, make sure you tell them that. I'm sure ANBU will need to be called in to ensure any of the _nukanin_ they've been tracking in the area don't stumble in."

"What are you going to do?"

"We've immobilised the person we think is responsible—or at least someone who has been using the situation to his advantage. It's all just a matter of dealing with him."

"No offence, boss, but you look like you can barely sit up, forget dealing with a potential enemy. Time's an issue—I can summon you back home, Lady Tsunade can heal you, and there would be others around to help you out with the interrogation."

"No. We can't be sure if this person is from this time or our time," Kakashi replies. "We can't remove him until then. Even if we did, there would be no way to bring him back. Once I'm outside the bubble, you won't be able to travel back here."

"Can you reverse-summon Lady Tsunade?" Sakura suggests. "She can heal Kakashi and Sarada."

"No," Pakkun replies. "The only reason I can get here is because I'm tied to Kakashi. If I tried to bring anyone else along, we might get lost. It might be rare, but time-travel complicates things."

"So, we need to find someone in the Konoha of Sarada's time," Naruto realises.

"Lor—uh, Kakashi-sensei, you—well, future-you and my father would probably know more about how to deal with this," Sarada says, side-eying Sasuke warily as she speaks. "We only need to get a message to them and they'll be here in no time."

"I can summon a toad!" Naruto volunteers.

"Didn't you hear what we just said, idiot?" Sasuke snaps. "Your contract is tied to your time. That won't do us any good."

"And it'd probably be that tiny, gross baby toad, too," Sakura adds with a shudder. "We need someone who can summon things from _this_ time."

"I could do it," Sarada says. "I don't have a contract with any summons, but I'm from this time. Once I get some of my strength back, I can try."

"You don't have a contract scroll," Sasuke points out.

"No, but thanks to my mother, I've always gotten along with Lady Katsuyu. So, at worst, I'd end up in Shikkotsu Forest for a bit."

"Who?" Sakura whispers to Naruto.

"Giant slug," he replies, and an expression of disgusted horror overtakes her features.

Sarada looks at her in amusement. "Lady Katsuyu could heal me and Kakashi-sensei."

"There's too high a probability that something might go wrong," Kakashi dismisses. "You're still weakened, for one. And it's not likely that a genin will be able to summon a creature as powerful as Lady Katsuyu the first time. There's no time for trial and error."

Unfortunately, he's right; as time moves differently in the places where most summoning animals come from, she might accidentally end up there for days or weeks. They need someone from this time who already.

After a beat, her eyes brighten with an idea. "Konohamaru-sensei."

"Huh?" Everyone watches her in confusion.

"Konohamaru-sensei can summon toads! I've seen him do it," she remembers.

Kakashi raises an eyebrow. "That's interesting. The Sarutobi clan usually favour monkeys from King Enma's court." He frowns in thought, then shakes his head. "But that's still complicated by the fact that we have no idea where he or the rest of your team are."

"Or if they're even alive," Sasuke reminds her.

"I don't care if you are my father, if you keep saying that, I'm going to punch you," Sarada informs him with false civility.

Naruto guffaws while Sasuke scowls at her.

Pakkun blinks, looking from Sarada to Sasuke, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's not complicated at all."

"We're having a bit of a day," Kakashi admits.

"I'm getting that." The dog considers Sarada. "It's funny, you don't smell as much like him as I'd expect. You smell more like—"

"Time for you to go, Pakkun," Kakashi interrupts. "Keep me notified if anything major changes."

"Right, boss."

The dog disappears again, leaving Sarada and Team 7 alone in the dimness.

"So…" Sakura breaks the silence, sounding uncertain. "Underground river, right?"

It turns out that there're more to _having a plan_ than simply getting up and following Sasuke. Everyone's still a little on edge, and Kakashi, although able to stand now, does so on wobbly legs. With their strongest member severely weakened, the squad can't afford to have anyone else occupied with helping him walk.

"We could summon that big dog of yours," Naruto points out. "The huge one."

"Were you not just listening when we spoke about how hard it is to summon here?" Sakura demands.

"Well, we wouldn't be sending him back and forth or asking him to take back anyone," Naruto protests. "If we're quick about it, maybe we can manage before summonings become too impossible!"

"No. I already suggested it," Sarada says. "Lor—Kakashi-sensei's too weak right now, both in terms of physical strength and chakra reserves."

"Well, he doesn't have to be the one to do it. We just need his blood, don't we?" Everyone stares at him. "What? It's true! I saw Kabuto do it once with Orochimaru, back when me and Pervy Sage went to get Granny Tsunade."

"That's…not a bad idea," Sakura says, sounding surprised and admiring at the same time.

Naruto beams the way he usually does when Sakura notices he's done something great. He might never have a chance with her, but it's still nice to be acknowledged by his friends. Even if the other one responds not with praise, but with a scowl.

"That wouldn't work unless the person using his blood has excellent chakra control," Sasuke points out. "Which means you're out."

"Shut up! You're not much better than me, asshole. Remember who learned to climb trees first!"

"It wasn't you. And how many times would you've become paste on the ground if I hadn't saved your worthless hide?"

"Not so worthless! Turns out, I've got as impressive a family as you do!"

"I don't care if you are the Fourth Hokage's son, you're still a dead-last loser!"

"Say that again! I dare you!"

"Both of you, shut up," Sarada cuts them off, the sharpness of her tone oddly reminiscent of Sakura. "I can do it. My chakra control is on point."

"You've been pushing yourself all day—and you're still healing from a major injury," Kakashi reminds her. Sarada's face flickers with pain, as though she'd completely forgotten about her injury and had just been forcibly reminded of it. "The only one with the right kind of control to attempt that right now would be Sakura."

Sakura's eyes bulge, and she wonders if she's heard correctly. "M-me?" Her voice comes out cracked, and she swallows. "No way! I'm not strong enough to do a summoning! I don't have enough chakra, or—"

"You'll be fine," Sarada tells her, inexplicably confident.

"You don't know that," Sakura protests. "For all I know, you just met me today!"

Sarada looks like she wants to say something to that, but abruptly changes her mind and instead replies, "I trust Kakashi-sensei's judgement."

"There's a sentence that inspires terror," Sasuke murmurs under his breath.

"Are you sure that's really smart?" Sakura questions.

"Maybe she was dropped on the head as a baby," Naruto wonders.

"You all know I can hear you, right?" Kakashi points out dryly although his students ignore him.

"I'd trust him with my life," Sarada insists. "And my parents have always respected his judgement, too."

Naruto snorts and grins at Sasuke. "You were saying?"

Despite his earlier remark, this information doesn't surprise Sasuke. He might not say it out loud, but he respects his teacher more than anyone else in Konoha. All the other adults look at him with pity because of what happened to his family. Beyond that, there's always an odd air of distrust that's been there since as far back as he can remember. As for his peers (with the recent exception of his teammates), he has no use for them.

Ever since the day he passed the team, Kakashi has spoken to Sasuke as if he were an adult. More than that, he's taken an interest in teaching him jutsu to strengthen him. Out of all of his teachers since the massacre, Kakashi has done the most to help him get closer to his revenge.

And, of course, there's the fact that he's the famed Copy Ninja. It's hard not to respect a shinobi of such ability—which is probably why Sarada's mother feels the same.

Whoever she is.

"… he always treated me like one of his own kids, so—"

"Kakashi-sensei has kids?!" Naruto demands, cutting off Sarada.

Her face takes on the deer-in-the-headlights look everyone associates with her accidentally revealing more than she should. "I-I didn't say that. I meant, you know, _if_. _If_ he had his own kids, he'd treat me like one of them. In the future."

"Would that even be legal?" Sasuke wonders.

"Wait a minute, is this that girlfriend you were pretending to have?" Naruto guffaws.

"Kakashi-sensei has a girlfriend?" Sakura gasps.

Kakashi chooses this moment to speak up. "Sarada, this is the thing we talked about not doing, remember?"

"Right. Shutting up now."

Except that doesn't stop his mind from busily racing away, trying to parse the implications of potential kids.

 _Kids._

Not _a_ kid, but _several_. Multiple tiny versions of him and—

And whoever is unwise enough to have children with him. Because really, what kind of crazy person has the patience (or insanity) to put up with him? Forget that—who would he ever get close enough with to even _consider_ having children? He's not even sure he deserves kids, even if he wanted any because he's never really wanted to have—

 _Now is not the time to get distracted_ ¸ he chastises himself.

"Sarada, whatever your relationship with us is in the future, right now, we can't afford you treating us like friends or family members. For however long this mission lasts, or at least until we get back to your team, these are your comrades and I am your commander in the field. You do whatever I tell you, without question, and don't let your feelings get in the way."

"Right."

"There's a reason that family members are not meant to be on the same squad."

Sasuke isn't sure if it counts, considering they haven't become family yet. He knows if he says anything about that, though, he'll have his teammates emoting all over him, so he decides it's best not to point it out.

"Okay."

"I mean it, Sarada. I'm not your friend or whatever you consider me to be. Right now, I'm your superior."

"Yes, sir, Lord Sixth."

Everyone stares.

Sarada realises what she just said and resists the urge to smack herself in the forehead. "Can we…pretend that's just from the overwhelming pain in my arm?"

"Good idea," Kakashi says tightly, a vein near his temple twitching.

"Lord _Sixth_?!" Naruto sputters.

"Not now, Naruto." There's iron in their teacher's tone, and everyone sobers. "Our focus has to be on the mission. And if we're going to go with your idea, we need Sakura."

She bites her lip, uncertain.

"Uh…right," Naruto says. With effort, he tries to get his brain to stop blaring the words 'Kakashi' and 'Hokage' at him. He shoots Sakura a tense smile. "You're totally strong enough to do this, Sakura. I mean, even Sasuke thinks so—"

The aforementioned squad member folds his arms in front of him but doesn't refute the statement.

"—and if you need chakra, I can lend you some of mine. I've got lots!"

"You don't even know how," Sasuke reminds him.

"So? I'll figure it out!"

"Naruto, your chakra is…unpredictable," Kakashi reminds him, though that's not exactly the word he wants to use. "And your control isn't at the level you'd need to be entirely successful. We need a perfect mix of control and power, especially given the time differential we're working with."

Naruto pouts, the demon fox sniggering in his head; just because they have a point doesn't mean he has to like it.

"Sasuke, on the other hand—while your control is less refined than Sakura's, if I talk you through the process, you should be fine."

Sasuke bristles at being referred to as second best, but he also looks at Sakura for the first time since he returned from his walkabout. He has to remind himself that Sarada never gave him a straight answer; there's no point in acting as if Sakura is walking around with an expiration date—one he may or may not be responsible for.

 _She's alive right now which is the important thing. If Sarada ever reveals different…_

Well, he'll deal with it somehow. He doesn't know how, but it's all he has right now.

He considers his teammate, who fidgets a little under his scrutiny then squares her shoulders in determination. There's a tiny wrinkle in her brow, one he's come to associate with resolve in the face of a new challenge.

"Okay," she finally says and Sasuke finds himself nodding as well.

Kakashi draws his scroll out and tells them to face each other before once more biting into his finger enough to draw blood. After tracing the name of the summons on the parchment, he reaches for Sakura's hand and presses it flat against the contract. Her palm presses into the blood causing small trails that haven't been absorbed by the paper to seep between her fingers.

"Picture who we're calling for, and keep his image in your mind," he informs her. "You have to keep track of several factors when summoning—the size of your target, the reason you're calling upon them—things like that. Then adjust the amount of chakra you draw in to the blood seal." He gestures for Sasuke to place his hand over Sakura's. "You will provide that chakra, but Sakura will channel it through the blood and into the contract. To do that properly, I need you both completely in sync."

There's a brief hesitation, but then Sasuke leans forward and covers Sakura's hand with his.

The effect is immediate.

Sakura feels the blood rush to her face and any thought of what she's supposed to be summoning is promptly replaced by the most irrelevant thoughts.

 _Sasuke's hand on mine! That's never happened before, not really. It's almost like we're holding hands, only we aren't. Oh…oh, his palms are calloused! Why didn't I ever imagine that? And…his hand is bigger than mine, it almost completely covers—_

"Sakura?" Kakashi prompts, cutting off her moment of hyperventilation with the raising of an eyebrow.

"I'm fine," she squeaks, mentally chiding herself to focus. There's no point in getting excited—it's all a moot point now anyhow.

"Hey, asshole. You'd better not take advantage of this," Naruto grumps and then curses when Sarada steps on his foot.

"Would you be quiet? They have to concentrate."

"I'm just sayin'."

"Naruto." There's warning in Kakashi's voice.

"Jeez, sorry…"

In the meantime, Sakura takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, forcing herself to focus—on everything else but the warm hand over hers. She's only recently trained herself to sense the chakra of others—at least to the extent that any non-sensor type can. And that's only because it seemed like the next logical step after considering her excellent chakra control.

It's easy to pick out Sasuke's chakra, even if she wasn't touching him.

It's strong and a little astonishing, but familiar to her in the same way Naruto's and Kakashi's are. With Sasuke, though, she feels other things—ominous power, but a sense of protectiveness. And beyond that—a dark _something_ is curled there, deep inside, muted. It's almost as if it's been walled off, and though she's not trying to touch it, her senses reach too deep and she recoils.

Her eyes shoot open, a cold, twisted nausea hitting her at the same time that Sasuke pulls back like he's been burned.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi prompts.

"It's nothing," he grunts, and Sakura clears her throat, adding, "I'm fine."

With only minor hesitation, she puts her hand back down in the blood and waits for Sasuke to do the same.

It's the curse-seal, she knows. That's where that terrible sensation comes from. She knows this because it's the same one she experienced when Orochimaru trapped her and Sasuke with his killing intent, forcing them to experience their deaths. That ugly, disgusting chakra hidden within Sasuke, crouching like some kind of gremlin, is his and doesn't belong.

Sakura grits her teeth.

She's even more determined now.

Maybe if they get out of here sooner, they can question the teleporter that Kakashi trapped. If they find out more about the curse seal he has, perhaps they can find out enough to help get rid of the one branding Sasuke.

Which means she needs to focus.

Sakura's chakra control has always been based on visualisation, and so, that's what she relies on now. She imagines her chakra as if it's a key: an incomplete, broken key that's not quite sculpted properly to fit the door represented by the summoning scroll. Sasuke's chakra is there, close enough for her to reach out and draw it to her. She pulls little slivers of it to herself and shapes it into the spots which are lacking on her key. She fits it into the cracks and grooves, pressing the tumblers on the metaphysical lock.

Throughout all of this, she has to be careful. If she opens herself to it too much, Sasuke's chakra will overwhelm her. It already feels too hot—fire and lighting searing her skin where he touches her. But if she just opens up a little, like the floodgates on a dam, that'll be fine. It's just a matter of being careful and keeping in mind the creature they want to bring to them and—

 _There!_

With a final pulse of both their chakra moving in tandem, the scroll bursts with light. Sakura and Sasuke quickly move out of the way, and a puff of smoke later, the space between them is occupied.

A large, hulking bulldog dressed in ninja gear sits there, frowning.

Of course, that could just be his usual expression.

"Boss?" he directs at Kakashi.

Sakura laughs out loud in genuine pleasure.

"We did it!" she cries. She experiences a peculiar wave of exhaustion, but it's not enough to tamp down her sense of accomplishment. They actually succeeded in summoning an animal together! It's an advanced technique that only Naruto has managed to date. It might not be a giant toad, but Sakura can't help but think she's moved up a level in her ninja training.

She beams at Sasuke, who looks as if he expected nothing less. There might actually be a hint of a smile on his face (and she refuses to believe that it's just the shadows cast by the glow stick).

Their eyes meet.

For a second, she pretends that they share _the_ _look_. The one he's given Naruto many times in the past. The one somewhere between acknowledgement and grudging respect.

It almost feels better than the memory of his hand on hers.

"My summons are still better," Naruto grumbles, and it's as if he's released a genjutsu.

Reality intrudes once more. Sasuke's expression hardens, and he looks away. Sakura fights back a painful twinge in her heart, but does that same. Only to notice Sarada looking between her and Sasuke with an expression on her face that Sakura interprets as reproach.

Right, that's exactly what she needs—to be judged by Sasuke's daughter because of her overly obvious crush.

"Bull, I hate to ask," Kakashi says, voice rising above her inner turmoil, "but we're in a pinch…"

ナルト

Once Kakashi is draped over Bull's impressive bulk, discussion turns to their next move.

"The place I found is this way," Sasuke says, already turning to lead the ragtag group off into the unknown.

"Hey, hold on! Wait!" Naruto interrupts. "We have a dog now. Can't we just smell our way out? You know, in case your way leads us to a dead-end or another monster-filled lab or something?"

Bull rolls one lazy eye at Naruto as if to protest having his importance limited to sniffer-dog. Sarada knows he won't say anything though. Out of all of Uncle Kakashi's summons, he's the most reticent and doesn't bother with sentences when a single word would do. Still, he makes his response plain by trudging off toward the tunnel Sasuke pointed out earlier.

"You smell something, Bull?" Kakashi questions.

The dog nods.

"Is it more half-dead bodies and rotting monsters?" Naruto adds. "Because we did that before and it didn't really turn out all that fun for us."

Bull snorts, almost in derision. "People." He grunts. "Alive."

"Oh, that's a relief," Sakura sighs.

"Blood," Bull finishes.

"…That's less of a relief."

"No, wait. That's good news," Sarada interrupts. "Sort of. Mitsuki and Konohamaru-sensei were hurt, remember? Maybe that's what he's smelling! They're alive!"

"Or it's some unlucky hikers who fell down a hole in the forest and ended up wandering down here, lost," Sakura points out.

"Well, we can't be sure until we look, can we?"

"No point in arguing about it," Kakashi cuts them both off. "If both Sasuke and Bull agree that this is the most likely path, we follow. So, stay sharp, and follow Sasuke."

The surly teen doesn't react beyond doing as he's told. Everyone else follows, and soon, they've fallen into another defensive formation. Naruto, now over his momentary protest, wanders beside Sasuke, as if refusing to be led by his friend and rival. Sarada trails a bit behind them, keeping an eye open for possible ambushes (because, based on what she's seen so far, she wouldn't be surprised).

She wonders if Mama— _Sakura_ —grabbed more than replenishment pills from the laboratory because her arm still stings like it's filled with a million fire ants. She wants to ask, but the pink-haired girl doesn't seem very comfortable right now. Sarada suspects it's a few things, not least of which is Sarada's identity, and she has to stop herself from comforting her. Mama would welcome it, but this young Sakura would probably get defensive. Also, her body is so tense right now, Sarada suspects any sudden surprises might lead to her throwing punches. Sakura might not have super-strength at this juncture in her life, but she can still do damage.

The tunnels continue to wind, splitting into several new branches. Sarada marvels that Sasuke got so far on his own so quickly before—and even remembered the way back. The marvel is somewhat diminished, however, by the overwhelming eeriness of the channels themselves.

After hours without seeing sunlight and being forced to breathe the dank underground air, Sarada is jittery. Every shadow seems like an enemy, and every sound, the portent of attack. One moment, all she can detect are the regular echoes of their party's footsteps, the next, it's a distant dripping sound. Occasionally, she imagines she can hear scraping or digging. Just as she tells herself it's only the sound of earth shifting, more noticeable to her now because they're all underground, it changes again. She imagines breathing or panting and can't fight down the temptation to look behind their little group to make sure nothing's followed them.

Hers isn't the only unease because, after several minutes, Naruto decides he's had enough of the silence.

"It's not fair," he complains—his voice, unnaturally loud in the tunnel, causing everyone to jump in surprise. "Why is _he_ gonna be the next Hokage? He doesn't even _want_ to be!"

Sakura mutters quietly behind Sarada. "It figures he wouldn't be able to let it go for long…"

"And what kind of moron chooses a porn-reading, always-late, mask-wearing weirdo to be Hokage, anyway? Hey! Wait a minute!" He lowers his voice conspiratorially although it's still loud enough to be perceived. "If Kakashi-sensei becomes Hokage, they have to put his face up on Hokage Rock, right? They can't do that if he's wearing that mask!" He nudges Sasuke, ignoring the savage elbowing he receives in return. "We'll finally be able to see it."

"No, you won't," Sarada points out, unable to help herself. She justifies it because it's not exactly something that will cause time and space to collapse. "The rock sculpture has a mask, too."

Naruto groans, shoulders slumping. "Are you kidding me?!"

"Sorry."

"No way…that's just…that's not right. So _no one_ in the entire village knows what their Hokage looks like? What if it's some weirdo, like Orochimaru, in disguise? How can you even tell it's Kakashi-sensei?"

"There're people who've seen him. Even I've seen him without his—"

" _What?! How?"_ Naruto whirls around, gaping. "How'd you manage it?"

"Well…when I was little, he used to play _inai-inai-baa_ with me. And he showed it to all of my Academy class at our graduation exam, sort of. It wasn't really a big thing."

"Are you kidding?! This is a huge deal! Tell us what's under the mask! It's a matter of…of village security!"

Sarada giggles because, right now, his earnest determination and utter exaggeration remind her so much of Boruto. The sound seems to startle Naruto and Sasuke because they both turn around and _stare_ at her.

"What?" she asks.

Sasuke quickly turns around without answering her, but Naruto replies, "It's only...I didn't think Uchihas could laugh. It's kind of scary."

Sasuke clenches his fist.

"Hey!" Sarada protests, unable to stop herself from putting her hands on her hips…before remembering why that's a terrible idea. She sucks in a pained breath.

Naruto is by her side. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"She shattered the bones in her arm, and you're asking what's wrong?" Sasuke mutters under his breath. " _Idiot_."

"It's called being considerate, Sasuke. You'd think you'd be able to at least fake that, seeing as how she's your future daughter."

Sasuke doesn't have a response to that and returns to his sulking, slouching walk.

"Speaking of future kids," Naruto continues, a smug note in his voice. "Do I have any? Or do I get to be a super popular ladies' man with dozens of girlfriends, living the bachelor lifestyle?"

He pretends to flex his muscles.

"I can't tell you that," Sarada reminds him.

"Ah, come on! A hint?" he cajoles, he lowers his voice even further to his version of a whisper. "Come on. Kakashi-sensei isn't even paying attention!" It's true, when Sarada checks—it seems like he's drifted off against the very large dog's head. "I just wanna find out if I'm going to be super different!"

"Not really," Sarada says, her lips twitching a bit. "You're still the same kind-hearted person in both times. My father and you are still friends and rivals. You respect each other."

"That doesn't sound like me," Naruto says while Sasuke mutters, "Like _that_ would ever happen."

They share a glare.

"You still do that, too."

"I guess telling me if I get to be Hokage is pushing it, huh? Since you already let the cat out of the bag about Kakashi-sensei."

"Just a bit."

Naruto gives an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. I guess I'm just not meant to find out. But—" He jabs a finger at Sasuke. "If this guy's dreams can come true, I _know_ I can make mine come true, too! I _will_ be Hokage after Kakashi-sensei!"

"Shout it a little louder, idiot. I bet they didn't hear you in Suna," Sasuke grumbles.

"And more important than that, I'm gonna be the best uncle ever and make sure you turn out normal. With a father like Sasuke, I'm amazed you're not emotionally stunted. I mean, he hasn't even apologised yet."

"For _what_?" Sasuke demands.

"Sakura's feelings are hurt. And it's your fault. _Again_."

Sarada turns slightly to see Sakura staring resolutely at her feet, pretending not to listen to the argument. Based on the clench of her fists and the flush of her cheeks, the reality is obviously different. She opens her mouth to tell the guys to knock it off, that this definitely isn't the place for such a spat, but Sasuke speaks before she can.

"What the hell do you mean, _again_? When have I—" he cuts off his furious, hissing retort and exhales through his nose. "Even if I had anything to apologise for—which I don't—what would be the point if it's something I haven't even done?"

"Yet."

"Ye— Shut up. You have no idea what this is like."

"Finding out secrets about your life, learning about family members you never realised you had, getting angry at people who don't deserve the blame…" Naruto pretends to tick things off on his fingers. "Oh, of course not. I have no idea what that's like."

Sarada raises her eyebrows at that because sarcasm is usually her father's weapon of choice. She's never known her uncle use it. Of course, she's never heard him—or eavesdropped on him—having a serious conversation with her father, either.

"It's different," Sasuke maintains.

"No, it's not," Naruto argues. "And that's another thing! You're making a huge deal about all this, like it's the worst thing in the world you could find out—that you have a family. That one day, you're going to have a kid and a wife and achieve your dreams and—"

"That's all you see, isn't it?" Sasuke demands, seemingly forgetting his earlier attempts to keep his voice down.

Everyone comes to a stop.

"That's all you see! It's all just a matter of hard work for you! A game, a competition! And you can 'only ever go up from here,' right? Well, that's not how it works!"

Kakashi rouses. "Boys now isn't the time—"

"Is that what you think?" Naruto demands, cutting off his teacher's warning. Something flashes across his blue eyes that looks equal parts livid and hurt.

"You only ever see what's right in front of you! You haven't even thought to ask what the price is, have you?!" Sasuke continues. Sarada suspects she's the only one close enough to notice his gaze flit toward Sakura and back.

So, that's what he's been brooding about. He's still trying to figure out if Sakura is the person he will kill to get his Mangekyō Sharingan. Sarada is sick at the thought.

"What price? What are you talking about?" Naruto demands.

"Underneath the underneath," Sasuke sneers. "You never learned that, no matter how much Kakashi tries to teach you. Face it, you're not cut out for this life. It's a life of blood and sacrifice and it's not simply about hard work and believing in yourself. One day, you'll learn that and, when you do, I hope I'm there to—"

WHUMP!

Sasuke reels backward, clutching his jaw. A bruising heat blossoms over the knuckles of Sarada's left hand. She knows the only reason she landed the blow was because her father was expecting it to come from Naruto.

"You need to shut up!" she orders him. "The things you're saying about the people who care about you—in what world do you have the right to treat people that way?"

Naruto is shocked, but still attempts to speak to her. "Sarada—"

"No!" she moves, physically putting distance between herself and the boys. "I'm tired of you taking out your anger on everyone else. Whatever's bothering you, lashing out at the people who care about you will not fix it."

Sasuke's eyes narrow at her, glinting red in anger. "You understand nothing."

"You're right, I don't," she retorts, her own Sharingan rising to the surface. "All I ever wanted was to get to know you more—to find out what you were like when you were my age because you never talk about it! But you know what? I totally get it now. There's a reason you don't talk about when you were a kid because you're a jerk! I can't even figure out why my mother fell in love with you or why Naruto cares about you so much! You treat everyone like they're stepping stones!" She jabs a finger in Naruto's direction. "At least, he never stops being a completely genuine person! You? You are a _disappointment_!"

He turns to face her more fully, his stance reminiscent of someone expecting a second punch.

"You can't say that to him!" Sakura cries and Sarada hears her stepping forward. "You don't understand!"

"Why are you defending him?" Sarada challenges, fury turning briefly on this _useless_ girl. She's angry at her, too, mostly for not having become the mother she knows. "He treats you worst of all!"

"You…you can't…He doesn't—"

Sarada isn't in the mood for her young, besotted mother's attempts at defence. She continues to face Sasuke, willing him to understand she means everything she's saying. "I don't know what happens in the future to change it, but I hope it happens fast because you need a serious attitude adjustment! _Shanna_ … _eeeesh_!"

She barely catches herself in time.

Or so she thinks.

Sasuke inhales sharply.

Naruto and Sakura have reflexively turned to Sasuke, expecting him to lash out or yell or do _something_. Even Kakashi has dragged himself into a more alert position, waiting to break up a fight.

No altercation arises, however. Instead, red eyes flit across Sarada's face, searching for something. They linger on her forehead then dart beyond her for a second. It's only for a second—a heartbeat—but it's long enough for Sarada to notice. She knows the only thing—the only person—behind her is Sakura.

Sasuke's eyes return to Sarada's face, and she watches them flicker back to unfathomable black. The rest of his face smooths out into that familiar mask of blankness. Does she imagine it or have his shoulders relaxed a bit?

Before anyone can figure out what just happened, he abruptly turns on his heel and stalks down the tunnel.

Sarada is panting in still-simmering anger, although it's quickly being replaced by confusion and a small note of panic. Sasuke continues to retreat—not fast enough for him to be stalking off, but the dismissal is clear. And given what she's pretty sure he's finally figured out, it makes no sense to her.

Everyone else seems wrong-footed as well, judging by the expressions on their faces. Even Kakashi looks like he's trying to parse his student's behaviour.

As usual, Naruto is the one to break the confusing and awkward silence. "You just punched your dad," Naruto remarks with forced levity. "Better hope he doesn't remember any of this, or you're totally grounded."

Sarada doesn't bother telling him it's the least of her problems.

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	13. Chapter Eleven

Sasuke hasn't gone far.

He isn't sure whether it's because some logical part of his brain knows it would be a bad idea, or because the feeling in his legs is disappearing. He doesn't really care, either; there's too much that he's trying to wrap his brain around, not least of which being that, apparently, his future child hates him. He can't deal with that reality just yet, though, because one notion has pushed to the forefront of his mind and is blaring at him in fiery characters.

It isn't Sakura.

The person he will one day kill to gain the Mangekyō Sharingan which will allow him to defeat his brother and ensure he can safely restore his clan. The person whose only crime will be that he cares for them most in the world.

Not. Sakura.

She will live.

The relief is palpable. Bewilderingly so, actually.

He's never been completely indifferent to the girl. She's simply been relegated to a place in his mind where he puts everything he intends to deal with after he kills Itachi. Whatever he might feel toward her now is irrelevant, or so he insists. It's the same thing he tells himself whenever anyone starts to get close, even if he sometimes forgets.

And it's just further proof that keeping himself distant from Sakura is the best. Perhaps that's why she lives.

Based on what he's experiencing now—a weight lifted from his shoulders and a warmth in his chest—he hasn't kept as much distance as he thought. His squad, especially Sakura, have come to mean more to him than he will ever admit out loud.

True, she's damned annoying.

He can't even remember her before she was trying to conceal her crush on him. And then when she wasn't. If she just didn't make a huge deal about it, he might willingly spend time with her. Strictly speaking, she's the only one on the team whose intelligence is on the same level as his. It wouldn't be so bad, spending time with a person who could actually discuss topics that go beyond the realm of ramen or erotic fiction.

There's also the small matter of her being slightly terrifying (he will never, ever, admit this). Sakura's temper is on a hair-trigger, and Sasuke's very glad that Naruto is the one she beats on, because he's seen the bruises. If the moron didn't have the lucky ability to heal quickly, he'd be in the hospital every other week. Sasuke has enough mental and emotional scarring in his life, he's fine without adding physical abuse to the pile.

But beyond those minor quirks, Sakura is _likeable._

She's the only truly innocent person he knows. Unlike the rest of Team 7, she has no dark past or horrifying secret. She has never known loss, has never truly hated anyone in her life. No matter the situation, she exudes an aura of approachability that Sasuke could never achieve even with years of practice. Her temper aside, Sakura's gentleness and kindness are something that make him and Naruto want to protect her from being taken advantage of.

Which is why it makes sense that both he and Naruto, who hides his crush even worse than Sakura does, are both drawn to her, in their own ways.

Except, as it turns out, one day, it will just be Sasuke. One day, that kind, bright girl is going to be his. She will, inexplicably, wait for him to finish his hunt for Itachi, agree to marry him, and then help him restore his—

Sasuke goes rigid. A rush of warmth floods his cheeks and the back of his neck as the implications of this knowledge hit him.

They have a daughter. Possibly other children.

There's only one way for that to happen, which means he and Sakura, one day, will…

Sasuke can't help the convulsive swallow of realisation. It's years before he really needs to worry about that sort of thing, but perhaps he should speak to Kakashi about…practical concerns.

No, scratch that. Kakashi would probably hand him that stupid book of his.

Who the _hell_ is he supposed to talk to about this?

It's a good thing Sasuke doesn't make a habit of acknowledging Sakura more often, because he will have a hard time looking her in the eye from now on. Embarrassment aside, he can't help but feel…hopeful. For the first time in his life—since he can remember, anyhow—a part of him is looking forward to the future.

Only for a second, though because there is a very real, very inescapable truth looming up behind his recent discovery. That he won't have to kill the girl he (possibly, probably, but will never admit to!) has feelings for. That there's still someone out there. Someone whom he will kill to destroy Itachi.

Which raises a whole other issue because who else is there?

He isn't friends with, or even close to, any of the other kids from their Academy year. As for the adults, he doesn't really interact with them.

Perhaps he meets someone new in the future?

Except…that makes no sense. He doesn't crave friendships the way he knows his teammates do. He would never go out of his way to become close to someone. Unless…

Unless he does? Does his future self seek out someone to be close to just for the sake of murdering them one day?

It's what Itachi would do.

All the warm feelings Sasuke had moments ago are gone now, replaced with a sinking sensation. It's the same nausea he experienced when he believed it was his destiny to murder Sakura.

If it's true, and he becomes as cold and calculating as his brother, why would Naruto ever respect him the way Sarada says he does? Why would Kakashi—apparently, the future Hokage—permit someone like that to stay in Konoha? After all, those who betray the people who are precious to them are scum.

And why would Sakura wait for him?

It's enough that she's apparently willing to forgive him the fact he will kill his own brother. What does it say about her that she would forgive him for manipulating another person into a close relationship just so that he can kill them? Either she has a secret sociopathic side to her (he dismisses this at once), possesses an impossible—even insane—capacity for forgiveness, or he doesn't tell her.

Which would explain some of the things Sarada has said. The girl—and it's still next to impossible to see her as his _daughter_ —has mentioned knowing nothing about his past. The Sasuke of the future apparently hasn't even explained the Uchiha Massacre to her. What's to say he also chooses not to tell Sakura what he did—will do—to kill his brother?

The notion is at odds with what Sasuke imagines marriage is supposed to be like. He only had a few short years with his parents, but their partnership was seamless. He knows that there were no secrets between his mother and his father, that they respected each other. In many ways, they provided as strong a team to one another as any active three-man squad. His mother attended every clan meeting with Sasuke's father, mediated disputes between neighbours on his behalf, and helped him with paperwork. When she wasn't caring for Itachi and himself, of course.

She once told him of conversations she had with his father about topics neither of them ever mentioned in his presence, so obviously, they communicated somehow.

Except Sasuke remembers nothing spoken.

There were times he witnessed what looked like entire conversations between the two. Given the fact neither of them ever said a word, he's not sure they were actual conversations, but it _seemed_ like it…

Is his marriage to Sakura going to be one based on secrets? If so, Sarada's declaration that he's a disappointment rings far truer than he's comfortable with.

But he's getting ahead of himself. Sasuke wills himself to ignore the convoluted mess of thought and emotion trying to take up residence in his brain. Right now, all that matters is the mission—find an exit, find Sarada's teammates, and stop this _whatever_ that's mucking around with time. Then he can safely forget all the complicated stuff and leave it to his future self.

He experiences only a modicum of guilt at that idea; in his view, his future self already has a hell of a lot more than he has. Let him deal with unpleasant truths and conversations. Right now, Sasuke prefers to deal with problems that he can either reason out or punch—not necessarily in that order.

The world filters back into his perception, no longer blocked by messy or complicated notions. He attempts to concentrate on anything but those thoughts—such as the subtle way heat radiates upward from the ground; the whistle of air through the many tunnels which is occasionally interrupted by a scraping, echoing rhythm; or just the smell of the earth. Anything but the—

Anything but the girl that he will marry one day.

"You can't say that!" he hears Sakura hiss at Sarada.

"Why not?" Sarada challenges. "It's not like you're going to say it, even though you obviously want to."

Sakura scowls at this.

It's true, she's torn between defending Sasuke's character and running after him to make sure he's all right. While her inner-self grumbles that Sarada didn't go far _enough_ , she can't help worrying that the girl's harsh words might have cut deep.

She knows how Sasuke takes things related to his family to heart. Naruto does as well, and when she glances at him, she sees the conflict in his features as well. Sasuke just insulted him, which isn't new, but this may be the first time someone outside of Team 7—a technical stranger at that—stood up for him.

Moral grey area or not, however, she doesn't like how Sarada behaved and something tells her it's her duty to point that out.

"You are a hypocrite," she tells the girl plainly. "Saying things like that to Sasuke, yet you haven't known him for more than a few hours!" Sarada opens her mouth to protest, but Sakura keeps going. "He might be your father one day, but right now, he's some kid you don't even know. Would you go up to a stranger and say things like that? Your mother—whoever she is—would be ashamed of you!"

Sarada's anger fades instantly. In fact, the speed with which she looks contrite and chastised almost makes Sakura take a step back.

"Fine," she says after a deep breath. "I'll…talk to him." She makes a move to follow Sasuke, but adds over her shoulder, a little sulk in her voice, "But I'm not apologising. Because I was _right_."

She hurries on ahead, leaving Sakura even more mystified than she was when Sasuke didn't snap back at Sarada.

Naruto rubs a hand through his hair, expression bemused. "I'd better make sure they don't kill each other." He blinks once, mentally going over that statement in his head, and then sniggers. "Wow, I never thought I'd ever say _that_."

"You and me both," Sakura agrees and lets him go. There's no use in her checking on Sasuke if his future child and his best friend are there to do it. More and more, she's realising just how superfluous she is, and it's not a pleasant feeling.

Not the _only_ unpleasant feeling, she decides, becoming aware that she is being watched. Indeed, her sensei is considering her from his position on Bull's back.

Once again, Kakashi finds himself in the role of having to console a distraught teenaged girl. He would've thought he was done with this sort of thing years ago, but it keeps cropping up. It might not a comrade's death he's dealing with, but it's still a young girl who believes her heart is broken.

While it's tempting to tell Sakura about Sarada, he knows better. Especially with the way today is going. Sakura cares so deeply, with her entire heart; if she knew, she'd just overexcite herself, or do something foolhardy.

He's still trying to evaluate whether that's something he has to worry about from Sasuke.

"You'll be all right," he tells her instead. "You're more than the person you care about, you know."

"You don't have to do that," Sakura tells him with a tiny, untrue smile.

"Do what?"

"Try to cheer me up. Naruto did that already."

"He's worried about you. I am, too."

Sakura sighs. "Everyone is so worried about me. It's nice and all, but I'll get over it. It's not like I'm surprised. I mean, we're thirteen. And I'm not from a prestigious bloodline, like Sasuke and Sarada. Or Naruto now, considering the whole 'Fourth Hokage' thing. The odds were never good. I knew that. I've been calculating probabilities since I knew how."

"Sakura—"

"You shouldn't be talking," she goes on. "You should be concentrating on healing and getting us out of here. Which, you know, I kind of want to do today at some point."

"Talking isn't going to make me pass out," Kakashi points out wryly.

"Yeah, okay. Well…I can be better at keeping my feelings in check. I don't need your pity."

"I'm not pitying you."

"Then you should be checking up on Sasuke," she replies, a hint of iron in her voice. She doesn't want to discuss this. Which Kakashi understands—they're in a cave where things tend to echo. While Sasuke might be preoccupied with his (more bizarre than usual) family drama, he will (hopefully) put that aside for the mission. Sakura doesn't want to take the chance of him listening in, worried that he will judge her for her feelings.

"He's probably dealing with information overload right now," she continues, insightful as usual. "I bet he doesn't even know what to do with it. Besides, I know you don't like me as much as you like the boys, so consider this your free pass, okay?"

Logically, Kakashi should take this as an out. The ninja life is not easy on those who have deep feelings. At the same time, he's struck painfully by the idea that Sakura believes he doesn't like her. Or that he doesn't value her as he does the boys.

"You're wrong," he tells her. "You might not be as strong as they are now, but you can always get stronger. You have a lot of potential and a lot of determination to succeed. Or at least I thought so up until this moment." He raises an eyebrow at her. "Beyond that, you're a lot less emotionally damaged than your teammates. Don't know if you've noticed that."

"Maybe a bit," she admits with a tiny laugh.

"Good. Then you should also notice that you're not the one dragging them down. They have their own hang-ups and problems which do that job for them. If they had half your maturity, the whole team would be a lot more effective."

Sakura blushes.

"That's not to say you don't get uncontrollably emotional about certain things," Kakashi continues, "but that's something you'll grow out of. Don't worry about it. You might wear your feelings openly now, and certain others might not appear to have any, but that will all change. Boys mature, too, and they'll eventually catch up to where you are."

His eye rests on Naruto's retreating back.

"Although…perhaps not. The point is, I don't 'like' the boys any more than I like you," Kakashi concludes. "You are all my adorable students."

"Okay," she whispers quietly. "But…I will be all right. I promise."

"Yes, you will," Kakashi's eye crinkles in a smile.

There's a bit of a pause.

"So…are we supposed to hug now?" Sakura asks.

"I don't really do hugs."

"Good. Because that would be kind of weird."

ナルト

Sarada catches up to Sasuke with ease, falling into step beside him.

She scowls, as much at the situation as at him, while he broods and avoids her gaze whenever she turns to glare at him. Both expect the other to speak first, even though she knows from experience that's futile. This is not the brooding silence she's used to, but it's a brooding silence, nonetheless. There's no point in pushing him to talk if he doesn't want to.

Naruto apparently never got that memo, even at this age, because he bounds between them.

"So, can you two read each other's minds or something? 'Cause this sure doesn't look like talking to me. It looks like you're trying to _silence_ each other to death. Which would be kind of cool, but also really bad—believe it! We're on a mission! Jeez, Sasuke! It's like I need to tell you _everything_. You're always holding me back."

Sasuke's eyes shoot daggers at Naruto, but the blond boy seems entirely unfazed. Sarada imagines that his clenched fist is beginning to spark blue, but before she can say anything, Naruto pulls away from them both. He inclines his head upward and sniffs.

"Hey! I smell water now, too!" He pulls ahead of them, beaming. "I'm going to check it out—but I'm not going too far, so you two better play nice! Don't make Uncle Naruto separate you!" He chuckles and bounds onward.

They stare at his back, and Sarada thinks he's way more amused by this whole 'time travel' thing than he should be. Uncle Naruto, indeed… And practically baiting her father like that?

"He has a death wish," she says in surprise and almost resignation. Her childhood fantasies are being crushed all around today.

"Hm."

Sarada jumps at the unexpected acknowledgement.

Sasuke is back to looking straight ahead, but there's a little less tension in his gait. As irritating as Naruto's interruption was, apparently, it broke through some of his gloom. The mutual silence is less menacing, but still awkward. Behind them, Sakura and Kakashi are talking in low voices. Sarada does her best not to listen, but it's hard considering how sound carries. She wishes Naruto hadn't left because he could probably have made this whole thing a lot less awkward and—

"You're just as annoying as she is."

Sasuke's words are pitched low, so as not to carry, but Sarada hears them fine. She side-eyes him in disbelief because he did decide to speak first, after all.

She smirks, the gesture amused but bordering on bitter. "Too bad for you—I know for a fact that's a compliment when you say it."

"Hn."

There's another lengthy silence. She decides to give in this time. "I'm still not apologising."

"Neither am I."

"Fine."

"Good."

More silence. And then—

"Are you going to tell her?"

Sarada startles at the question. There's not enough inflexion in it to discern how he wants her to respond, even if she could decide on what to say.

"I want to," she finally admits. "But it's not a good idea. She's very…different now."

"Hm."

At this, he abruptly pulls ahead of her and Sarada gets the odd sense that she said the wrong thing. He makes it several paces in front before turning around, looking at her directly for the first time.

"There's nothing worse than being lied to," he tells her. "Believing one thing about a person, and then finding out, at the worst possible moment, that it's nothing but fabrication?" He leaves the question hanging for a second, then resumes walking. "I'm going to make sure that idiot doesn't get lost."

Sarada gapes at her his back. It almost sounds like…like he _wants_ her to tell Sakura? Not necessarily because he cares for her (although Sarada is beginning to suspect that he isn't as indifferent as he pretends). It's seems…he doesn't want her to be kept in the dark.

It's a sentiment Sarada understands only too well. She knows what it's like to have people keep secrets. She remembers the overwhelming, crushing pain that consumed her when she believed her parents had lied to her. When she concocted a scenario where Sakura wasn't her mother. And even when the truth came out, she still experienced a sinking, hollow despair because Mama hadn't told her the real reason for her father's constant absence.

 _But who lied to Sasuke?_

Sarada doesn't think it's anyone on his squad—they don't appear to have secrets from each other. Except for Naruto being a jinchūriki, of course, but that's not so much a personal secret as something that affects the fate of Konoha.

In any event, she's going to have to consider the merits of telling Sakura. Or at least, find out from Kakashi if she can get away with it. By now, two of the four people she was trying to avoid telling, know the truth. It can't make that much more of a difference, right? Sarada decides to wait until they're less likely to have the world cave-in on them. If they manage to find another space where it's relatively safe, she'll bring it up then.

It feels like an eternity before they finally get out of the winding darkness.

The cavern that Sasuke spoke of before is audible before they see it; the low, rumbling rush of water grows louder until their tunnel opens into a vaulted, natural cavern. Stretching out immediately in front of them is a large, flat space that fronts a subterranean river. The water is black in the darkness, swift eddies visible just beneath the surface. There's no sign of where it originates from, but on the opposite side of the grotto, the current picks up. At one point, the water may have spilled over into a natural fall, but there's evidence of human interference. The water on this side of the riverbank seems to be some kind of reservoir, and it meets at what appears to be a makeshift dam. Aged, but functional, equipment is set up along the construction with one mechanism attached to a kind of floodgate. On the other side, where she supposes the waterfall once was, there's nothing but darkness leading to unfathomable depths.

Naruto is standing there, craning his neck over the abyss. "How far down do you think it goes?"

"How bad do you want to know the answer?" Sasuke replies. The question sounds sinister despite the mild tone.

Sarada sharpens her gaze, noting that the steep slope and natural spillway are lined with algae. There would be nowhere for anyone to hold on to if they fell down that way, chakra grip or not. She shudders.

"That must be how this place is powered," Sakura observes quietly beside Sarada. She jumps, having not heard her mother appear behind her.

She follows Sakura's gaze to the makeshift dam and realises she's right. The only reason for such a thing to be built down here would be to generate power. "Looks like."

"There's another tunnel, that way," Kakashi says, passing them both. He is walking now but hasn't sent Bull away. The large dog lopes at his side, nose twitching toward the opening Kakashi pointed out. "Is that where you smell people?"

The dog makes a low _whuff_ of agreement and heads in that direction, Kakashi following.

"Looks like we'll get you back to your team, finally," Sakura says tentatively.

"Yeah."

Silence.

Sarada wonders if it's her destiny to be completely awkward around both her parents in this time.

"How's your arm?" Sakura asks.

Sarada examines the badly mangled appendage, wincing at the sight. It's bleeding in a few places where a stitch or two may've popped, and it's covered in dirt from their impromptu escape.

"I think my dad—er, Sasuke was right. I'm probably going to need it cut off."

Sakura snorts. "Don't be so melodramatic. The medicine we gave you is keeping the infection down. We just need to clean it up and put it back in a sling. Come on. We can do that now."

Sarada blinks in surprise as Sakura steers her toward the side of the river. _And the award for Spontaneous Personality Change might not be going to Papa after all…_

"You're not going to shove me in the river, are you?" she asks, only half-joking.

"Only if you mouth off again," Sakura replies sweetly.

They can't really afford to take more rests than necessary, but if Sarada doesn't see to her injuries, she won't be of any use to Team 7. Or her own team, when they find them. That's probably why Kakashi allows them to fall behind.

Sasuke scopes out the cavern while Naruto takes off his jacket and rummages through his pockets. After a few minutes of labour, he finds what he was looking for—a candy bar—and happily begins to munch on it. Meanwhile, Sakura sets to work on Sarada's wounds.

"Shouldn't Kakashi be doing this?" Sarada points out.

"I have the same basic medical training as you do," Sakura retorts in a clipped tone. "Besides, I watched what he was doing before. It's really not that difficult."

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to insult you. I just…" She trails off, earning a puzzling look.

Sakura sighs. "No, don't apologise. Today hasn't exactly been…easy."

Which is really putting it lightly.

"I won't lie," Sakura continues as she works, gently rinsing dirt and blood from the injury. Sarada grits her teeth, but endures the pain. "Finding out that Sasuke's your father wasn't what any of us expected when we woke up this morning." She bites her lip, sheepish. "But it's also not an excuse."

Sarada is confused. "Excuse for what?"

"I haven't been as nice to you as I might've been if…" She goes quiet, and Sarada suspects she wants to make sure Sasuke's not listening in. Sarada's eyes dart across the cavern at him, where he's—pretending to be, she suspects—utterly absorbed in examining the dam.

Sakura finally continues, "It's not your fault that he…that I…" She scowls, more at her herself than at Sarada, and forges ahead with resolve. "I bet your mother's amazing. She'd have to be."

"My mother's the strongest kunoichi in Konoha—maybe the world. She could be Hokage, if she wanted to," Sarada says loyally, unable to ignore a sense of smugness at the way Sasuke jerks slightly in surprise. She was right. He is pretending not to listen. "There were actually a few times when she was suggested as a successor if something happened to Na—to the current Hokage. Actually, it's sort of the story for both my parents." She sighs, a little unenthusiastic now. "I don't think my father would ever… Well, he said he doesn't like the idea of his face on a mountain."

Sakura chuckles at that, and though it sounds a little forced, it's a welcome sound.

"That doesn't surprise me." There's a beat of silence. It seems almost as if the conversation is over, but then she speaks again. "Your mother…she isn't Ino, is she?"

Sarada whips her head up in surprise. "What? I can't tell you that." Even if she really, _really_ wants to. Kakashi's too far away for her to ask him, and she just wants to make sure it's allowed before—

"My knowing that won't make the world implode," Sakura cajoles.

"Yeah, but—"

"Just tell me!"

"But Kakashi-sensei—"

"Isn't even listening. He's reading that stupid book of his."

"What? Again?!"

Sarada cranes around to see—and, it's true. He's surreptitiously stuffing the orange book back into his pocket, the jerk.

"Exactly! So, you can tell me, and it'll be just between the two of us."

"And Naruto," the blond boy pipes up, appearing beside them as if by summoning. Unlike Sasuke, he doesn't even bother to pretend he wasn't eavesdropping the whole time.

"And Naruto," Sakura amends, shooting him an annoyed glare. "Who, according to you, is your uncle, so, you should listen to him."

"That's… Is that even logic?" Sarada wonders, confused.

"No, but nothing about today has been logical. Now tell me!"

Everyone waits with baiting breath.

Sarada exhales. "No, it's not her."

"Oh, thank goodness," Sakura whispers and then barks out a laugh. "Hah! That's the best news I've had all day!"

"I guess that competition you two have isn't a new thing, is it?"

"It's not a competition—it's an epic rivalry," Sakura sniffs, but then let's out a single hard laugh. "I guess there's no real point to it anymore, though. The whole reason for it was… Anyway," she says, clearing her throat, then considering Sarada. "I hope he doesn't get mad at me, but we're going to have to sacrifice some of Sasuke's shirt. I'm all out of bandages, and you need a new sling."

"I figure, in the big scheme of things, he's probably not concerned about his shirt right now," Sarada points out.

Sakura nods, thoughtful. With a kunai, she carefully cuts and tears a long strip of blue fabric away from the bottom of the shirt. Sarada notes she's careful not to rip the _uchiwa_ symbol though, which is an oddly touching gesture.

"There's something that's been bugging me," Naruto says, watching Sakura fashion a sling for Sarada. "Before, when you were telling us those embarrassing stories to make us trust you—you didn't say anything about Sakura."

"Well…I…" She's not sure how to deal with this question. The reason she didn't say anything about Sakura was because Mama tells her a lot about herself—more personal and embarrassing things than what she knows about the others. She doesn't think her mother would appreciate her revealing some of those secrets.

"That's just not fair," Naruto continues.

"Shut up, Naruto," Sakura orders, a tight smile on her face.

"No, seriously! We need to hear something embarrassing about her, too!"

"It's not like I've hidden anything from you. We go on missions in close quarters all the time, so you guys already know all the really personal stuff."

"Yeah, but Sarada wouldn't."

"Well, maybe she doesn't spend much time with me," Sakura suggests lightly; the effect is ruined by the pained note in her voice. "I mean, she'd have to with Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei and you. You guys are her father, her father's teacher, and her father's best friend."

" _Tch_." Sasuke's no longer pretending not to listen in.

"She has to be close to you guys, but that doesn't mean she is with me. I'm just…" She trails off, as if can't find the right words to explain exactly what she is. That expression makes Sarada's stomach clench because she suspects what her mother is imagining about herself right now.

Naruto appears to be on the same train of thought.

"You're not," he tells her. "Whatever you're thinking, you're not. Sarada knows you. Right, Sarada?"

Two sides of Sarada are at war. The practical one who understands Kakashi's wish to limit information exchange, is fighting with the emotional one. The one who finds it imperative that her mother lose that pained expression on her face _right now_.

They're going to forget anyhow, right?

"Not necessarily," Sakura says quietly. "I might not have ever met her."

"What? Why would you say that?!" Naruto demands.

"Because I could be—"

"You pad your bra!" Sarada blurts out desperately.

" _What?_!" Naruto and Sakura chorus, in various states of dismay.

"You didn't get proper breasts until you were fourteen, and they were still small, so you—"

"Stop it!" Sakura shouts, frantic. "Stop talking right now!"

"Aw, man," Naruto complains. "So, you're gonna be flat-chested for another two—"

"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura howls, drawing back and smacks him in the head. Even without the strength she will one day have, the force is impressive. He ends up staggering backward toward the tunnel they came from, past a suspiciously red-faced Sasuke.

"Why would you say something like that?" Sakura howls at Sarada.

"I'm sorry! It was the first thing I could come up with"

It's the first topic that comes to mind because it's the last thing she and her mother discussed before she left on this mission.

" _Why_ would I even _tell_ you that?!"

"Because we know each other _really_ well," Sarada says, mentally trying to sort out what she can and cannot reveal. The result is a sudden outpouring of nervous babble. "You're my best friend! Well, adult friend. Well, okay, so, I never really got along with the other kids my age, because…I'm an Uchiha, and…other reasons. And Chōchō's kind of…flaky, even if she's my best friend. I love her and all, but she's kind of a diva, which is…annoying. But, in the future, you and me, we get along. Whenever I had problems at school, you were the one who helped me deal with them and everything. And you always listen to everything I have to say and try to comfort me when I'm sad. And when I was little, you'd take me to the park and…and…"

She's trying desperately to come up with information, or at least information that she's allowed to share. At which point, she shoots a desperate look at Kakashi, asking his permission. There's a twitch beneath his mask, like he's trying to hold fast. Sarada's heart leaps at this, because she recognises that twitch. It's the same one she used to see when she cajoled an extra bedtime story out of him when he babysat. Or when she convinced him to take her to get dango before bringing her home for supper.

"Hey, that's kinda cool," Naruto is saying, massaging the blossoming bruise from his teammate's assault. "Sounds like I was right before! I bet you become a teacher, Sakura. Kind of like Iruka-sensei. That wouldn't be so bad—"

 _Snkt!_

Naruto's words are cut off by a sudden yelp of surprise and pain. Everyone watches in horror as four short, curved claws punch through his left shoulder. The sound of tearing flesh fills the air as the sharp blades dig deeper. There's barely time for anyone to react as he's thrown clear across the room, blood spraying.

In the space behind where he stood, a figure looms. Bones poke through his skin and tattered clothing, gashes seep across his face and body. The parts of him that aren't sticky with blood and dirt are slowly covered by a growing curse mark. Gaunt, haunted eyes, like a wild animal glare out at them, hungry and malevolent.

Apparently, one of the experiments survived the cave-in.

つづく

* * *

 _And… scene._

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	14. Chapter Twelve

It seems like an eternity before anyone can process what just happened.

Naruto hits the ground several metres away, his cheeks scraping across the stone. The pain in his shoulder and chest roar like flames, and his lungs scream for air. Even as he struggles upright, one hand pressing against spurts of blood, his knees buckle.

Still crouched by the water, Sakura's fingers clap tightly to her mouth. Shock, horror, and disbelief war for dominance over her face.

"So nice of you all to swarm here," the newcomer sneers, pointing bloody claws at Sarada. A pair of brass knuckles have been fused to the back of each hand, gangrenous around the seam. "Especially you, you little bitch. I'll enjoy shredding you for sealing me into that cave-in."

He shifts into a crouch, like a tiger preparing to spring. At the same time, Kakashi dashes away from the mouth of the other tunnel. Bull is at his heels, both of them intent on the man, but Kakashi is still weak and slower than normal.

He won't make it in time.

Sasuke would normally coordinate his movements with Kakashi's—flank him and provide another front of assault on the enemy—but he finds himself torn. Naruto lies severely wounded and bleeding nearby, still trying to stand. He's a clear target of attack, if the clawed man wasn't so focussed on the girls. While Sasuke knows from even short experience that they can both defend themselves in a normal situation, this _thing_ has a curse-seal spread across its body.

With a snarl, the clawed man lunges at Sarada and Sakura. Sasuke is instantly in front of them. Sakura's jaw drops as he catches the downward swinging blade with his kunai. He reverses, kicking his foot upward in the initial movement of _Shishi Rendan._ Before he can fully execute it, though, the man vaults backwards and lands in a crouch, eyeing Sasuke warily.

"Your eyes…" he murmurs, a touch of suspicion in his words. "You're the Uchiha brat, aren't you?"

"And if I am?" Sasuke counters. Behind him, Sarada makes an inquiring noise.

The man's ruined mouth pulls into a grin that is more of a grimace. "Orochimaru spoke of you. He has plans for you, kid."

Sasuke narrows his eyes. "You know my name, but I don't know yours. It's only fitting I know who I'm about to kill."

The man barks out a bitter laugh. "I haven't had a name in years. But if you're so sentimental, you can call me Mumyōi."

"A fitting moniker," Kakashi says as he and Bull plant themselves beside Sasuke. He studies this newest opponent, trying to decide whether he has enough strength to deal with him. It'll be a close fight, but he can manage, as long as he's careful.

Bull growls and snaps his jaws threateningly.

"That mark of yours seems to allow you to survive where normal humans wouldn't," Kakashi remarks. In a louder tone, he warns the kids, "Keep an eye out for others.

"Don't bother," Mumyōi sneers, lips widening over rotted teeth. "The other bastards were all crushed. About the only favour you did me. I've been listening to those losers scream and cry for months." He chuckles. "Their deaths were _so_ satisfying once the door was open. I bet it'll be the same when I'm done with you."

Sasuke clenches his fists, preparing to throw himself at the creature, but Kakashi stops him.

"Save your strength," he warns him quietly. "There's a chance you'll need it. Sakura, Sarada—" The girls straighten up at the sound of their names. "Go help Naruto."

Neither argue; in fact, Sakura is already inching toward the boy, frantic to see if he's all right. With Kakashi and Sasuke covering them from the enemy, they hurry across the cavern.

"I'm…fine," he breathes through gritted teeth, still trying to get up.

Sakura pushes him back down to the floor. "Stop that! You're losing too much blood. If you don't stop moving, you'll—"

"I'll heal," Naruto slurs, rolling away from her before slumping forward.

"—pass out," Sakura finishes, colour draining from her cheeks.

"Why aren't you healing? Something like this should be nothing for you!" Sarada cries, her frightened expression reflecting what Sakura feels.

"For someone whose mother is a medic-nin, your bedside manner sucks!" she accuses the other girl.

"I've seen him impaled on a sword and he walked it off! So, excuse me for panicking!" Sarada shoots back, turning desperate eyes on Naruto. "How long will you need before you can fight?"

Naruto blinks in surprise.

"What do you mean, _fight_?" Sakura demands. "He can't—"

"He can!"

She gazes at Naruto as if trying to ask a question without voicing it.

Realisation hits him. Obviously, Sarada knows more about him in the future than simply information about his family. She knows who he is and exactly what's inside of him. And, instead of dislike or hatred in her eyes, right now she's looking at him like he's worthy of respect. In fact, since they've met, she's looked at him like that.

Naruto decides that it doesn't matter if it's possible, or how long it'll take him. He will damn well get to his feet and protect his friends.

"As long as you can give me," he tells her, his voice slurring as darkness overtakes his vision. Now, he just needs to convince that damned fox…

"What was that all about?" Sakura wants to know, but Sarada shakes her head.

"You said we have to stop the bleeding, right?"

"Right. He might heal fast, but even Naruto can bleed out if we don't slow it down."

There's no more time to waste with questions. The girls set to work peeling Naruto's jacket from his body and using it to stem the flow of the blood.

Meanwhile, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Bull surround Mumyōi. In his team's diminished state, Kakashi isn't keen on fighting someone who obviously has no compunction about attacking a kid with his back turned. If there's a way out of this situation without having to exchange blows, he has to try.

"I'll make you a deal," he offers. "You answer a few questions for us, and you can go. We won't have to kill you. Given the fact you injured my student, I'm letting you off easy."

Mumyōi scoffs. "What makes you think I have anything to say?"

"You've been living as one of Orochimaru's experiments all this time. You've probably heard things. Tell us what you know. It's not like you owe him anything."

"Is that what you think?" the man sniggers. "I volunteered for this. He said I'd be stronger. And I am." As if to punctuate his point, he lashes out in the same instant that Bull leaps forward, spinning and kicking the dog across the room. The force of impact is such that the dog creates an indentation in the cave wall before collapsing with a pained whine.

Kakashi's jaw clenches as his first plan fails. A fight is inevitable, it seems.

He can't rely on his Sharingan. He's already weaker than he was, but this creature needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.

"Be ready to move when I tell you," he murmurs to Sasuke. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices his student nod, which is surprising. It has never come naturally to him, taking orders. Sasuke, however, knows of the precariousness of their situation. More than that, he knows that this thing intends to go after Sarada. Even if he isn't sure he even likes the girl right now, she is his future. She represents everything he's been fighting for since that awful night when he was eight.

She is— _will be_ —important to him. And it's the same for Sakura.

So, he'll listen to Kakashi and do his best to protect them because they are his—the word is utterly foreign in his mind— _family._

When Kakashi takes a step forward, Sasuke keeps his eyes firmly on the enemy. He knows that the jōnin is not fighting in his prime today and using the Sharingan anymore could be disastrous.

"Last chance," Kakashi directs at the marked creature. "We've already dealt with one of Orochimaru's experiments. I figure being imprisoned somewhere with no chance of escape might be a worse fate than if I kill you."

Mumyōi smirks. "Even if you could send me wherever you sent that bastard—that was a nice trick, by the way—I figure you don't have the energy to pull it off again."

"Try me and see."

"I'll take my chances. Being trapped with him isn't the worst thing that could happen. You've got bigger problems than a half-crazed clone with an inferiority complex—things I only heard rumours about."

A shadow passes over his face, and for a moment he seems uneasy. The expression disappears once again, replaced with the predatory look from before.

"Anyway. Bored now."

And he bounds forward.

Kakashi and Sasuke both dodge and land equidistant from the wild-eyed man. Sasuke's fingers crackle with electricity, but a tiny shift of Kakashi's head stops him. Common sense catches up—they're in a damp cavern where current might carry. He could end up harming them all to take out this one psychopath.

Kakashi is already forming seals with his hands, and Sasuke's Sharingan allows him to perform them completely in sync with his sensei.

 _Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!_

After summoning chakra into his chest, Sasuke expels a giant fireball, curving the flame around Mumyōi. Opposite him, Kakashi does the same, and their opponent is instantly surrounded by an inferno of skin-melting fire. Hopefully, it'll reduce the bastard to ashes.

Somewhere behind him, he hears Sakura sniffling. She's still desperately fighting to save her teammate and trying not to forget every bit of first aid training she's had.

She can't help the worried tears streaming down her cheeks at the sight of Naruto. It's like the Land of Waves all over again. Only, instead of mourning the boy she's in love with, she's trying to keep the person who's become like family to her from dying.

Sakura doesn't want to lose him, but she has no idea what to do. Sarada—up until now, the all-knowing, incredibly cool kunoichi—is becoming frantic with worry as well.

"No! No, no, no, _no!"_ she hisses. "You can't die! You can't die now! Do you hear me? You're supposed to be stronger than this! Come on!"

She presses the already-saturated compress against his wounds. They're closing, somehow, but not fast enough. Her eyes flash red as she glares down at Naruto, as if his injury is something offensive and unbelievable. Sakura is hit by the realisation that the other girl is also watching someone she cares about die.

Naruto _is_ family to her in the future.

"Come on, Naruto," Sakura whispers, pressing harder against the wounds. "You need to pull off another one of your miracles."

Which, Naruto would love to do, really.

He swims in and out of consciousness, trying his best to hold on to the two voices that are speaking to him. It's hard to focus past the overwhelming pain. He doesn't remember ever being hurt this bad—of course, he's never really been hurt, but that's down to the Nine-Tails.

 _Yeah, it is. And you'd damn well better not forget it_ _,_ growls a voice in his ear.

In his delirium, Naruto hallucinates the familiar, dark, damp room which exists somewhere deep within him. Whether it's a real location or his subconscious, he's never really thought too much about. He doesn't like this place, even if it didn't have a fox demon locked within it.

A fox demon who is now laughing at him.

 _Hey, how about you shut up?_ Naruto snaps, glaring up at the thing and trying not to imagine its powerful jaws clamping around his entire body. _We had a deal! I die, you die, remember?_

 _Maybe,_ the Nine-Tails sneers. _Or maybe_ , _I think it's your turn to stew for a while. You obviously aren't going to die today. The Uchiha brat says you live. So relax._

 _My friends are out there, possibly dying, and you want me to relax_? Naruto yells. _What the hell is wrong with you?_

 _I'm bored. I've been stuck in here too long. I need to stretch my legs._

 _Yeah? Well, tough. I'm not letting you out of there, even if I knew how._

 _Obviously. But that doesn't mean I can't have some fun_. There is a sickening kind of bloodlust in the demon's eyes. _That guy out there…_ _He's practically begging for_ _it._ The fox licks his lips and almost giggles. _You know what he will do, right? He will tear up the scarecrow man and reduce the other Uchiha nuisance to ribbons._

 _Shut up!_

 _And afterward he'll do the same to that girl you like so much. Which is probably for the best because she's useless. I'd eat her in a heartbeat, if I was free._

 _Don't talk about Sakura that way!_

 _Why not? She doesn't care about you,_ the Nine-Tails mocks. _It's all down to_ Sasuke _for her._ _She even said so. Even now that she knows she has no chance with him—have you seen the way she—_

 _Stop it!_

 _You really are stupid. No wonder your father trapped me inside you. Obviously, he had higher priorities than his own kid—_

 _Shut the hell up! I don't care about any of that!_ Naruto explodes. _I just want to keep my friends safe! And if you running your mouth gets them killed, I swear, I'm going to make the rest of my life all about making you miserable! Even if that means dying to make sure you die, too! Now, are you going to help, or keep making stupid comments?!_

The fox snarls in response.

 _Well?_ Naruto prompts.

 _Hmph. Give him to me._

 _Huh?_

 _Give me the cretin who wounded us. Let me show him power doesn't come from some blemish on his neck. You let me have him, and I'll lend you enough power to heal. Then you can protect your weak, useless friends._

Naruto doesn't reply right away, worrying that giving any kind of control to this creature might be exactly what it wants.

 _You're not killing him,_ Naruto warns him. _He could know something about the clone who caused this whole time travel mess._

 _Feh_.

 _Hey, you want that fixed as much as we do! If it destroys the world, you're as screwed as the rest of us!_

The Nine-Tails is mutinous, but finally huffs in disgusted surrender. _Fine_ , it agrees. Then, as Naruto suddenly feels the overwhelming chakra take hold, the demon adds, _He doesn't really need all of his limbs to survive, right?_

Naruto's eyes snap open. Sakura cries out in shocked surprise, watching in awe as the skin of Naruto's shoulder knits together.

"What?" she whispers. It shouldn't be possible—cellular regeneration is an ability she's only ever read of in medical treatises and mythology. A thirteen-year-old boy shouldn't be able to heal this fast.

As Naruto's chakra changes, burning with a livid, bubbling power, an angry roar sounds from across the cavern. Within the wall of flame, a dark shadow appears, and a body vaults out of it. Mumyōi—skin singed and shiny with blisters—throws himself at Kakashi, shoving his claws into the jōnin's throat.

Kakashi utters a strangled gurgle and disappears into a mess of sludge.

 _Kawarimi_.

The clawed man curses, searching around for the real Kakashi.

Given the fact he used mud, Sasuke suspects that his teacher has slipped underground, intending to attack from beneath. It's the same technique he used on Sasuke during the bell test—one that doesn't need the Sharingan to be effective. Which means Sasuke simply needs to keep the enemy occupied.

He sets to that task with vigour, charging forward and aiming a spinning kick at Mumyōi. He holds kunai in each hand and, as he lands, swipes downward. The enemy blocks them with his claws, kicking Sasuke back while their weapons are locked. One bladed fist swings forward, but Sasuke dodges a little too slowly—the tips of the claws rend part of Sasuke's shirt, nicking the flesh beneath.

He bites back against the pain, landing in a crouch, but only long enough to regain his momentum. While Mumyōi straightens, Sasuke slices upward with his kunai. To avoid it, the clawed man throws himself backward, rolls around, and tries to stagger to his feet. But Sasuke is airborne, bringing his weapon down…only to miss once more.

Frustration is mounting every time he fails, and Sasuke is tempted to call on the power of his own curse-mark. If it'll help him catch up with this synthetic monster—

As if sensing his thoughts, Kakashi makes his reappearance. Two hands shoot out of the ground, about to fasten around Mumyōi's ankles.

Sasuke knows intimately what's about to happen and prepares himself to deliver a finishing attack to the creature's head once he's firmly ensconced in the ground.

Except that's not what occurs.

Instead of being dragged underground, Mumyōi snaps forward and shoves his hand into the dirt. The broken earth trembles, and Sasuke's heart plummets when the man straightens up—

—and drags Kakashi out by hooking his entire bladed hand through his stomach.

Kakashi coughs, blood staining his mask.

"Nice try," Mumyōi jeers. "But my strength isn't the only thing this curse-seal gives me. I can hear little rodents like you crawling around in the dirt. I've known exactly where you were this whole time."

With a grunt, he lobs Kakashi across the room. The jōnin's lifeless body skids and rolls, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura screams.

Sasuke is having a hard time processing the sight himself.

Kakashi is the most talented shinobi he knows, but somehow, he's been bested by this creature bearing the curse-seal. Somehow, Sasuke hadn't truly believed Kakashi when he said he'd been weakened by using the _Kamui_ , but everything happening now suggests Sarada was right. There is a price to using the evolved form of the Sharingan. One that might very well be worse than the price of using a curse-mark.

Sasuke's neck twinges as Mumyōi turns to face him, disgusting features pulled into a triumphant smirk.

"One down, four to go. You up for it, kid?"

Sasuke's fists clench, and he bends he knees, preparing himself for the next assault.

It never comes.

There's flash of orange and yellow, and suddenly, Sasuke's view of the curse-marked creature is obscured by his teammate.

"If you touch any more of my friends," Naruto says, voice dripping with dark promise, "I will tear you to shreds."

ナルト

The dangerous aura emanating off of Naruto is one that Sarada has never seen or felt before.

Whenever she's witnessed Lord Seventh tap into the chakra reserves of his demonic partner, its bright, comforting, and powerful, like a warm flame. What radiates from him now is nothing like this—it's anger, pain, and hatred. It's making her sick just being within a few feet of it.

Naruto throws himself forward, kicking the clawed man in the chest with both feet. Mumyōi flies backward with unnatural force, slides across the floor, and nearly skids over the drop. At the last second, he uses his claws as anchors, slowing down just as his head tips over the edge. His legs kick up over his head, and he rolls to his feet, baring his teeth in a vicious snarl.

"You think that impresses me?" he growls. "So, you're still standing. Big deal. Watch me cut your knees out from under you!"

He lunges at Naruto again, barrelling headfirst into him and throwing him backward this time—right into the path of Sakura, who's trying to get to Kakashi.

At the last moment, Sasuke appears in front of her, grabs Naruto, and redirects him. The blond boy doesn't even seem to notice his teammate, and instead, launches himself back out at their opponent.

"Move it!" Sasuke commands the girls, his eyes tracking Naruto's fight.

 _How the hell is he doing this?_

He was sure he saw the creature shove its claws straight through Naruto, and there's no way Sakura or Sarada could have healed them that fast…is there?

"What do you think we're trying to do?" Sarada returns while Sakura drags Kakashi out of the direct line of combat.

He gasps as her efforts tug at his wound, but there's no choice. Slowly, they manage to get farther out of the attack range, while Kakashi tries to keep his breathing steady. Sarada doesn't know if it's to block out the pain or keep his students calm, but she appreciates it, nonetheless.

He squints at the ugly tears down his abdomen. "Stomach wound," he pants, his mask almost completely saturated with red. "Without a healer…half an hour. If I'm lucky."

"Kakashi-sensei—" Sakura protests.

"If I don't make it—"

"Don't say that! You're going to be fine!"

"Sakura," Kakashi cuts her off, a command in his tone. He has to take a moment to breathe, and then, with obvious exertion, ensures his orders are clear. "If I don't make it, you're in charge."

Her eyes widen and she squeaks, "What?"

Based on both hers and Sasuke's faces, that's not something either of them expected him to say.

"Get Bull—he can find you a way out. Get away from that thing."

"Don't be stupid," Sarada cries. "You're not going to die, and we're not leaving you here!"

Kakashi can't argue with her, though, because that's when he passes out.

Sarada curses and glares at Sasuke. "So, still think having a Mangekyō Sharingan is worth it?"

"Don't start!" Sakura snaps. "Kakashi-sensei needs help! Your arguing will not keep him from dying!"

For the second time in less than ten minutes, they're trying to help a loved one who is gravely injured. And Kakashi doesn't have Naruto's healing abilities.

"So, we won't let him," Sarada insists.

"How exactly are we going to do that?!"

"I have no idea—I haven't thought that far ahead yet," Sarada replies, staring at Sasuke in the hope that he'll come up with some kind of plan.

He's not paying attention, though. His eyes flick back to where Naruto and Mumyōi are doing their best to tear chunks out of each other. Even in the distance, Sarada can see how Naruto's nails have lengthened and sharpened unnaturally.

He seizes his opponent, lobbing him toward the rocky ceiling. Mumyōi's back hits the dome, causing the entire room to shake. Cracks appear where he hit.

Sakura dives forward, shielding Kakashi and his wounds from any of the falling debris.

"We need to stop them before they bring this whole place down," Sarada says. "We were lucky to get out of the first cave-in. I don't want to tempt another one when Uncle Kakashi is near death."

"Then we have to end this, now," Sasuke declares, straightening up. He means to join Naruto and take out the enemy, but Sarada grabs for him. Her fingers settle plaintively around his wrist. He flinches at the touch—this him probably dislikes physical contact more than the older version—but it doesn't stop her from objecting.

"You can't. You saw what he did to Naruto, and what he did to Kakashi-sensei. If he gets you, too… If you die now…" She can't put into words how bad it would be.

For a wonder, Sasuke actually hesitates, and something like conflict passes over his features. His gaze flicks to Sakura, who's staring at him with the same beseeching expression Sarada feels on her own face.

There's another dull thud, and the cavern shakes.

Naruto hits the ground, and for a few seconds, looks unable to move.

"That's it?" the clawed man taunts. "That's all you got? I've gotta say, I'm disappointed. And still a little riled up. Tell you what, kid—when you and the other pipsqueak are dead, I think I'll take my time with the girls. They both seem so…spirited."

The words drip with intent, and Sarada can't quite disguise the shiver of dread that travels up her spine. Sakura's cheeks drain of colour.

Sasuke goes very still. Suddenly, Naruto's chakra isn't the most disturbing thing in the cave anymore. Something dark and dangerous glints in his eyes.

"Stay behind me," he orders the girls, voice devoid of inflexion, but leaving no room for argument. "As soon as you can, take Kakashi and the dog, and get out of here."

"What are you going to do?" Sakura protests.

"I'll help Naruto distract him while you run. Go through the tunnel."

"And then what?"

"Then I'll kill him."

"You're not strong enough—" Sarada's protests dies in her throat as she notices something moving across Sasuke's neck. At first, she thinks it's a shadow, or maybe even a legion of bugs like what Shino-sensei commands. It spreads from a small, circular bruise, which was covered before by his clothes, and stretches across his neck, legs, and arms.

But when her Sharingan picks up the mottled colour—like dried blood—and she feels a more pointed, colder shift in her father's chakra, a new conclusion hits her.

He has a curse-seal.

Just like the monster Naruto is fighting.

Just like the teleporter who threw her off a cliff.

"Why…why do you…" she falters.

"What did I say?" Sasuke growls at her, eyes blazing and _tomoe_ spinning furiously. "Get moving! _Now_!"

"Is that…is that what I think it is?" Sarada whispers, but neither of her young parents answer her.

"You can't!" Sakura cries. She doesn't seem unsurprised by this, but her worry is plain. "You're not supposed to use it, you know what it—"

"If I don't, we're all going to die," Sasuke snaps. "So, shut up and stay back."

Sakura's mouth closes with an audible click, and she shrinks back, while Sasuke stalks purposefully away. Sarada gapes at her mother, utterly floored by what she's just seen.

"Are you just going to let him talk to you like that?" she demands, unable to keep the reproach out of her voice.

"What exactly do you want me to do?" Sakura replies dully.

"You're his…you're his teammate! You need to stop him!"

"Not when he's like that. I only managed to once, and…I think it was a fluke."

The words 'fits of rage' and 'mental instability' echo in Sarada's mind as she remembers her conversation with Kakashi. At the same time, she makes the connection to what he said about there being only two people with curse-seals that Konoha had access to.

Sasuke is one of them.

Questions explode half-formed in her mind, but before she can settle on any particular one, her attention is drawn by the whirlwind of movement that is her father. She has a Sharingan and can barely follow him as he hammers into Mumyōi, shuriken clutched in his hands like he has his own claws. There's a manic grin on his face that, coupled with the intensity of his eyes, makes him look as mad as the man who attacked them.

"Sarada!"

She jumps, glancing over at Sakura. Her mother's fists are clenched, and she is very studiously trying to avoid watching the brawl unfolding across the cave.

"We have to help Kakashi-sensei," she reminds her, words forced like they're being spoken around a lump in her throat. Her eyes are panicked. "But I don't know what to do."

It's not a question, but there's enough weight to Sakura's words that Sarada knows she's expecting her to have an answer. Sasuke's curse-seal and brutality aside, Sarada needs her attention to be here right now.

She wracks her brain for an answer to Sakura's plea. This whole day—this whole _mission_ —she's been required to come up with solution after solution. She is getting closer to the bottom of her metaphoric bag of tricks. Even now, she's not sure if there is anything she _can_ do.

 _What would Mama do?_

Not give up that's for sure.

Sakura Uchiha's determination to succeed is just as legendary as Lord Seventh's. He once told Sarada the story of how, during the war, Mama actually stuck her hand in his chest to keep his heart beating _after he'd technically died_ _._ And when Sarada was a little kid, Mama saved Uncle Shikamaru's life by tying their life forces together. Lady fifth was furious, but that's the kind of thinking Sarada needs right now, just enough to…

Her thoughts come to a halt as she remembers something else she saw her mother do that day.

She knows for a fact that if her mother ever finds out she _considered_ doing this, she'll throttle her. Because it's not only dangerous to Kakashi, but one wrong burst of chakra could kill Sarada just as easily.

"I might have an idea," she says, exhaling shakily. "But I've only ever watched my mother do it once before. If she found out I was suggesting this—"

"I don't care what it is! Just do it!" Sakura cuts her off. "If we live through this, I promise I'll never tell your mother, okay?"

If the situation weren't so dire, it would be funny.

"Right." Sarada breathes again, trying to centre herself. "I'll need you to lend me chakra."

"I don't—"

"It's the same as what you did before with Sasuke. You remember how to do that, right?"

"I think so," Sakura allows and holds out her hand.

Sarada doesn't mention that it'll be even easier between them, as parents and children share certain biological properties. Now isn't the time to continue with their ever-unfolding family drama; it's time to save the man who's like a second father to every single one of them.

She concentrates.

Sakura's chakra fits seamlessly into her own, as she expected, familiar from so many incidents of healing scraped knees and fevers. There's less of it than she's ever felt, but it's still familiar and strong.

"Focus on stopping the blood while I work," Sarada instructs. "Stitch the wounds closed, if you have to. I'll contain any bacterial infection that I can sense."

Her left hand glows, but it's not the same stable light her mother's healing chakra takes on. It flickers, like an unsteady flame, because Sarada is not a medic-nin—she doesn't have her mother's training, and she can only rely on books and observation. If she fails at this…

The blue glow sputters out.

"What happened?" Sakura cries.

"It's nothing," Sarada assures her, pushing away all doubt. "I'm just… I need to concentrate better. I've never…"

"You can do this," Sakura tells her, firm. "I've watched you do impossible stuff the whole day. This is nothing."

Sakura might not be her mother yet, but hearing those words bolsters Sarada's resolve. She nods, determined, and goes back to work.

She never realised just how much exertion goes into healing someone. Her mother always makes it look so effortless, even for life-threatening injuries. The Sharingan can copy techniques flawlessly, but if it weren't for her precise chakra control, none of this would be possible.

Doing all this while trying not to listen to the growls and pained cries from across the cave where her loved ones are either being ripped to shreds—or ripping someone else to shreds—is even harder.

She visualises the rents in Kakashi's abdomen closing and tries to see the injuries to his internal organs do the same. After a few minutes, she pulls back, forehead and back drenched with sweat that stings the open wounds on her body.

"It's not going to work," Sarada pants in frustration.

Sakura's expression is agonised. "What do you mean? The wounds are closing. I'm _watching_ you close them, right now. I barely even have to stitch—"

"He's lost way too much blood. Even sewn up, his heart won't have anything to pump. Not unless we can transfuse—"

" _What?!"_

"It means you—"

"I know what it means! I just didn't think you were serious!"

"Why the hell wouldn't I be serious?!"

"So, what—we're just supposed to magically find a bag of blood somewhere?!"

"No. We'll have to make do."

"With what?"

"With you."

"What?!"

"He's O-positive, and so are you!" Sarada hisses. "So, you're the only one who can help him right now!"

"How do you know my— Hold on. You want to do a transfusion _here_?! Are you insane?! That's an incredibly complex procedure, and they don't even do that in hospitals anymore because they have—"

"I've seen my mother do it in an emergency situation, and I copied it with my Sharingan, just in case," Sarada cuts her off. "I'm not saying it won't be hard, especially because I've only got the one hand working right now. But it's just a matter of creating a cut and using a line of chakra to—"

"Explain it later," Sakura interrupts. "Just help him now, before I come to my senses, okay?"

It's easy to understand her sudden change of attitude. Kakashi's skin is almost corpse-like in pallor now, and when Sarada touches her fingers to his wrist, it's cold and his pulse is sluggish.

"Get me some water," Sarada orders. "We need something to conduct the blood." In the hospital setting where her mother did this procedure, she used a sterile medicinal fluid, but their options are limited right now.

Sakura scrambles to fill the small flask from her pack, and Sarada busies herself with cutting Kakashi's sleeve from his arm. When Sakura returns, she takes the full flask and gestures for her to lie down beside Kakashi.

"Bind your arms together—not too tight, or you'll cut off circulation, but enough to keep you close. The closer you are to one another, the better."

Sakura does as she's told, bringing her arm and Kakashi's parallel to each other. With the fabric of his shirt holding them together, Sarada indicates that Sakura should lie back and be calm.

 _Because one of us needs to be, and if you freak out, I'll freak out._

Summoning up her focus, she pulls her chakra into one point on her uninjured hand, her index finger. She visualizes it forming into a blade, a chakra-scalpel like she's seen her mother use. The edge shivers on the tip of her nail before smoothing into a solid line of chakra.

 _All right. Here goes. Gods, please don't let me kill him by accident!_

Sarada sets to work, searching the crease in Kakashi's elbow for a vein, and then makes a small incision. The cut is crude and larger than it should be, so it bleeds more than she expected it would. She grits her teeth and channels chakra into her injured hand and crouches forward, ordering her swollen, broken fingers to bend. She just needs them to shove enough chakra into the wound to keep the blood flow under control.

Hands shaking from pain and nerves, she wills the edge of her chakra-scalpel to become sharper. Eyes search out an artery in Sakura's inner elbow.

"I'd go for a vein, but an artery is faster," she explains, and Sakura nods in encouragement.

Sarada makes the incision. Her mother grimaces in discomfort as blood spills forth, and she releases the chakra-scalpel, taking up the flask and splashing across their joined arms. She's breathing hard now, like she's just run a marathon or survived a sparring session with Metaru, but she can't give in.

Her hands are shaking again, and doubt fills her once more, but Sakura leans forward and grasps her wrist. Chakra flows through her body, steading her hands.

"Thanks," she says. "But you shouldn't move." And she goes back to work.

Using a blend of her own and her mother's chakra, she charges the water until it forms a bubble-like shape in the air. Sakura stares in wonder, much the same way Sarada did when she watched her mother do this the first time.

With supreme effort, she forms the glob of moisture into a tube, fitting it to the bleeding wounds in each arm. Sarada concentrates, pressing the ends into the delicate membranes of her mother's and Kakashi's major blood vessels.

A dark, rushing line of red flows from Sakura's arm toward Kakashi. Sarada half expects it to hit his skin and trickle off or for the chakra line to fail in the middle of the procedure, but by some miracle, it holds.

She and Sakura watch with bated breath as, ever so slowly, Kakashi's skin colour returns to normal. The next five minutes tick by in agony, neither girl allowing the battle in the background to faze them. As the three warring dynamos skirmish, doing their best to destroy each other and the surrounding cavern, the girls have found some kind of vacuum of utter silence and concentration.

Only when Kakashi gasps and opens his eyes, do they move once more.

Sarada falls back, her concentration broken.

The blood-fluid tube succumbs to gravity, and it's all she can do to press her hand against Sakura's inner elbow to stem the flow of blood. With the last of her chakra, she does the same for Kakashi.

"That…was very foolish," Kakashi tells her as he sits up, but there's a softness in his eyes. "Yet…exactly what your mother…would have done."

Sarada tries to call up a watery smile, but lacks the strength to even do that. Something warm trickles from her nose, and a wave of sharp, splitting pain hits her right behind the eyes.

"Sarada!" Sakura cries, lurching forward.

It's the last thing she sees.

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	15. Interlude II

Boruto awakens in a dimly lit chamber, blinking in confusion up at the stone overhead. The sensation of pain is the first thing to come back to him, a stinging hot pain in his shoulder.

 _Right. My first real stab wound._

He briefly considers soldiering through the pain of it; it's what Dad or Uncle Sasuke would do. Then again, Dad can heal himself and Uncle Sasuke has Aunt Sakura to fix him up. And he's already lost an arm, maybe to sepsis.

 _Okay, scratch that, get up and get this healed._

His body feels like one giant bruise, as if he has been knocked around or thrown down a flight of stairs whele he was unconscious. He can't believe all this came from the one fight with—

Memory rushes back to him in technicolour—the ghost man, Big Bro Konohamaru and Mitsuki wounded, Sarada running off into the distance, something hitting him in the back of the head—

"Sarada!" he says suddenly and sits up in a hurry. The ceiling is so low that he hits head upon getting upright, and is sent back down holding his head. Moaning in pain, he turns onto his uninjured side and surveys his surroundings.

He is underground, in some kind of a cavern—more of a crevice—and there's no one else there but Konohamaru. Mitsuki and Sarada are nowhere to be seen.

Growling through his pin, Boruto crawls over to Konohamaru and begins to go through his pack, trying to find something to help. There are general anaesthetic pills, which he gulps down eagerly, and soldier pills. He warily grabs hold of the needle and thread for stitching, not entirely sure he's ready to try sewing himself or Konohamaru up. It probably wouldn't be a good idea with the way their wounds are now, burgeoning with infection.

And even if he does, what do they do next? They're in some kind of hole underground, who knows where it twists and turns off to?

Boruto kicks at the ground in frustration, at a loss at what to do next. Sarada is the planner, not him! He just likes to react to things as they come, and right now, he can't do that!

His vision flickers, two scenes superimposed on one another, and out of the corner of his right eye he notices something glowing around Konohamaru's wrist. A huge collection of chakra just sitting there.

Blinking his eye back to normal, he reaches for his sensei's sleeve and pulls it back, emitting a startled laugh when it reveals the _Kote_.

"And here I thought we weren't supposed to use those!" he teases Konohamaru, but it is mostly a relieved kind of jest. There's bound to be something in the chamber for healing.

It takes several frustrated tries to empty the chamber of offensive jutsu, none of which will help them right now, before he stumbles upon a cartridge with Sakura Uchiha's seal upon it.

 _"Yes!"_

Without wasting time, Boruto snaps the cartridge back into place and squeezes the trigger. An orb of green healing energy grows in his palm, warming his entire body.

"You just watch, Big Bro," Boruto grunts as he presses the energy into Konohamaru's shoulder. "We're going to fix you up…and then get out of this place…and find Sarada and Mitsuki. And if you're _really_ nice about all this, I won't tell my dad you brought this on our mission."

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	16. Chapter Thirteen

"Sarada? _Sarada_!" Sakura cries as the other girl slumps forward, blood trickling from her nose. She catches her and sends Kakashi a panicked look. "What's wrong with her?!"

Kakashi wants to tell Sakura to calm down, but his own concern for the unconscious girl supersedes that wish.

"She used the last of her strength," he says, grimly noting the shallow rise and fall of her chest. Her eyes don't move beneath the lids, and when he gingerly reaches out to check her pulse, he finds a much slower one than he would like. "Ruptured a few blood vessels doing it, too. If she's lucky, they were in her nasal passages and not her brain." Sakura appears horrified. "We need to wake her. The longer she's unconscious, the more likely she might have neurological damage," Kakashi continues. "I'll do what I can—"

"But you're still hurt!"

"You have a more important job right now," he replies with gentle firmness. "I can't move very far, and I need you to get Bull. My orders from before still stand. We need to get out of here and regroup." He's not one to run from a fight, but in this case, the most intelligent course of action is retreat.

Sakura is smart enough to know this as well because she gets to her feet and heads off, skirting the ongoing melee.

Kakashi inhales a shaky breath, returning his attention to his unconscious charge. Seriousness of her condition aside, he can't fight back the mounting sense of awe at what she's done today alone. Sasuke and Sakura's daughter is a force to be reckoned with, a true prodigy with her father's skill and mother's resilience. Part of him wonders if he—his future self—had any hand in shaping her as well. There's not much else he can do right now but try to wake her. Healed or not, he's weak, and won't be fighting any time soon. Which means, unless he can orchestrate a miracle from afar, the boys are the ones running the show. The problem is both are now the very worst versions of themselves. They might win the fight, but utterly lose their sanity in the process.

Naruto has tapped into the fox demon's power, a change which Kakashi can sense despite his own lack of strength. The boy's usual overwhelming chakra is different—darker—and, unless it's brought under control soon, he might break Lord Fourth's seal. As for Sasuke, he's using the curse seal that Kakashi explicitly warned him about. While it's granting him uncanny strength now, it will soon begin to eat into his chakra, draining his life force.

And yet…

In spite of the dire circumstances, the common enemy has united the boys. They're working together with a seamless, instinctual teamwork that Kakashi has only seen hints of previously.

A savage barrage of kicks from Sasuke forces Mumyōi to stagger back. Seconds later, Naruto lunges, seizing the clawed man around the middle, knocking him to the ground. Clambering across the prone man, he crouches on his chest and grips him by the shoulder, elongated nails sinking in. Mumyōi yells, bucks the blond boy off, and prepares to attack—but is grabbed by Sasuke. Barely exerting any effort, Sasuke tosses him across the room, the force causing Mumyōi to spin in the air and hit a far wall face-first. He crawls to his feet, but Naruto is already there, taking a swing. Blood sprays through the air as Mumyōi's cheekbone shatters, his jagged teeth cutting across the back of Naruto's fist. As he reels, Sasuke takes hold and swings him over his back, dropping the clawed man until he lays prone on his back.

In spite of the beating, Orochimaru's experiment still gets to his feet. The only difference now, is that he eyes them warily.

"You should stay down," Naruto growls, a part of him still trying to keep this fight from ending with anyone dying.

Sasuke isn't as committed to that course of action. The memory of what Mumyōi said about the girls fills him with a burning anger, one which seems to bleed through the mark that covers his body. Emotions that he always buries deep—rage, pain, hatred—simmer on the edges of his consciousness, fuelling the intoxicating strength he hasn't experienced since the Forest of Death. It makes him want to lash out, to rip apart whatever living thing is closest. Even Naruto, standing beside him and radiating that strange, dark chakra, beckons him to attack. It's a constant challenge to remember that the other boy is his teammate.

Mumyōi sniggers. "You think I'm going turn tail because two brats got their second wind? You obviously don't understand what life's like down here."

His sneering smile widens. The moving black stain spreads even more thickly across his body until every inch of his flesh is covered. The mark solidifies, taking on a greyish hue. It resembles unbaked clay, but with a texture closer to a snake's scales. The claws fused to his knuckles also grow longer as if protruding from deep within his arms. Mumyōi's irises and pupils bleed into black, while his wild hair lengthens and turns white, surrounding him like a mane. His ears elongate, resembling those of a cat or a bat, while a tail rises behind him with spikes sprouting from its tip, a shiny substance oozing from it.

"What the hell is that?" Naruto demands.

Mumyōi takes a step forward, eyes settling on Sasuke.

"Unlike you, I fully embraced what Orochimaru gave me," he sneers. "He only ever saw me as a guinea pig, but there's a reason I survived when hundreds of others didn't! I destroyed anyone who got in my way and devoured their flesh to become even stronger!"

Naruto makes a disgusted noise in his throat, and even Sasuke can't help wrinkle his nose. He might want power more than anything in this world, but the lengths this creature went through to achieve the same revolts him.

"Well…that explains your teeth, at least," Naruto taunts.

Mumyōi bellows and his arm whips out—somehow, it's grown longer—and backhands him. Sasuke only twists his body at the last second to avoid the claws, resulting in him sliding across the floor of the cave on his back.

As Mumyōi takes another run at him, Sasuke deftly pulls out a half-dozen shuriken, aiming them for whatever vulnerable points he can see—eyes, neck, joints. His enemy avoids all but one of them, which takes him in the flesh above his elbow, by jumping into the air. The impossible tail lashes out, wrapping around one stalactite to keep him stable. After regaining his balance, he propels himself downward, claws spread and aimed at Sasuke.

Naruto intercepts him, swiping at Mumyōi's side with his own sharp nails, but the clawed man is ready for him. His tail whips around, sending the blond boy flying again, barrelling into another body. Naruto recovers and rounds on whoever stopped his trajectory, only to freeze when he sees that it's Sakura.

"What are you doing here?!" he snarls as she tries to pull herself to her feet, looking dazed.

"Kakashi-sensei told me to get Bull—" she begins. Naruto whirls to see that his teacher is once more conscious and upright. It's impossible—he saw what Mumyōi did to him—but somehow that's what he's looking at. He also realises that now it's Sarada who lies prone on the ground, unconscious.

"We can't keep doing this," he mutters. Every piece of good news seems to herald a loss on its tail. At this rate, Mumyōi will just need to pick them off one by one.

"Kakashi-sensei says we need to retreat," Sakura admits reluctantly.

"Do it," Naruto orders. "Sasuke and I will keep him busy. Then we'll catch up."

"You've been keeping him busy all this time, and it hasn't done anything. You need to incapacitate him long enough for us to get away," Sakura points out, eyes gleaming with determination and anxiety. " _All_ of us."

 _Naïve little fool,_ the Nine-Tails sneers in the back of his head, but Naruto ignores him. He's just as intent as Sakura to get the people he cares about out of this situation. The odds might not be good, but then they've never been good for him, and he always comes out on top.

Naruto draws on the roiling, angry power within him, he forms a Rasengan in his hand and lunges back into battle.

Left behind once more, Sakura clenches her jaw and continues with her mission. She might not be strong enough to fight the clawed madman like her teammates can, but she can still follow orders.

The hulking dog is conscious when she gets there, but before she can demand why he hasn't been helping them, she sees that his hip is badly dislocated. Given the angle he hit the wall at, he's lucky that's the worst injury.

"You poor thing," she murmurs. The dog won't be leading any of them out of here anytime soon, and Sakura's stomach sinks at this realisation. "You need healing. Can you move on your own?"

Bull whines a negative, and Sakura bites her lip. Moving the dog at this point might injure him further, but she can't leave him behind. But she could barely make her way over here without getting involved in the ongoing melee. Dare she risk it with a hulking, muscly dog?

There's no question. They're in a bad situation, but there's nothing to lose by trying.

She half-carries, half-drags the large canine across the floor to where Kakashi is waiting, still trying to bring Sarada back to consciousness. There's an uncomfortable, gnawing of worry in Sakura's stomach at the idea that the girl might not wake up. She feels responsible for this—she was the one who told Sarada to do whatever she could to save Kakashi, and now Sakura might've pushed her into sacrificing herself. Not only will Sasuke never forgive her, if that's the case, but she'll be to blame for killing a potential friend.

The cavern shakes all around them with the force of the fight still going on. Naruto and Sasuke might provide excellent distractions, but it's hard for Sakura to keep her mind on her own mission while she worries about her friends possibly dying.

 _I should be helping them! I should stop being so useless! All I can do is run away!_

"You're in a bad state," Kakashi says to Bull, his words bringing Sakura out of her guilty self-recrimination. "There's no point in keeping you here, after all. I'll send you back."

The dog makes a noise of protest—obviously, he wants to stay and help despite his injury—but Kakashi has already undone the summoning.

"Wait!" Sakura cries, but it's too late. Bull is gone in a puff of smoke. "You should've sent him with a message to Lady Tsunade to send help."

"You know why we can't do that," Kakashi replies, tired. "Here. Help me pick her up." Together, and with great difficulty, they begin to manoeuvre Sarada off the ground. "Time is already compromised. We don't know what might make it implode."

"What do you mean, _compromised_?"

"Something Mumyōi said. He mentioned that he'd heard of Sasuke before, and he talked about Orochimaru's plans."

"So?"

"So, how likely is it that he'd still know that after twenty years have passed? Or even that he'd survive twenty years, considering the conditions of this place?" Kakashi points out. "This whole base—I don't think it's in the future, after all. I think it's in our time."

Sakura gapes. "But that makes no sense! We crossed through the bubble! _Sarada_ is from _this_ time!"

"And that's why I think time is breaking down," Kakashi tells her, tone severe. "The longer we take, the weaker it all gets. This place—wherever, _whenever_ we are—is a mixture of different eras. They're bleeding into one another, and it's only a matter of time before it's all destroyed."

"Then we can't waste any more time fighting this guy," Sakura determines. "We need to get away and stop the time… _fluctuations_?" She glances back at the ongoing fight. "Do you think he knows?"

"I doubt it. He said himself that he was locked up for years," Kakashi replies. "Which means our ghost is the only chance. And I don't have the strength to bring him back just now. Maybe not for a long time."

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!" Sakura yells, losing her temper at last.

Kakashi doesn't have time to answer as several bodies fly past, forcing them to duck out of the way. The boys and Mumyōi are a tangle of flailing limbs and sharp blades, but it finally seems as if her friends have the upper hand.

Mumyōi hobbles away, his terrifying, monstrous form fading. His skin returns to normal and his claws shorten—no longer daggers, but still sharp. Not a moment too soon, either, because Sasuke's curse seal is fading. Sakura knows that means his strength is waning, too.

With the last of it, he hauls out several strands of wire, looping it around Mumyōi and twisting it so that he can sling the creature over his back. In the meantime, Naruto grabs one of the man's arms and yanks him backward.

The sound of breaking bones and tearing flesh fills the air, and Sakura smells blood.

Horrified at what she is seeing—at what her _friends_ are doing—she can't help the scream that's wrenched from her throat.

"No!"

In her head, she knows that this is what should happen. This _thing_ has tried to kill them, has injured her sensei, has threatened horrible things—but the idea of watching her friends turn into monsters themselves sickens her far more.

There's a brief moment of hesitation, as if all three of the fighters are taking a collective breath.

And then the dynamic changes again.

Sasuke's mark disappears, and he loses his grip, falling backward. Mumyōi manages one last well-placed hit, knocking Naruto away from him and making a run for it—

—straight at Sakura and Kakashi.

Before either of them can move, Sakura finds herself seized roughly and dragged away from her team.

"Sakura!"

"Let her go, you bastard!"

Mumyōi holds Sakura tightly, arm wrapped around her and claws pointed toward her chest. A tighter hold and he'll be able to tear into her heart. Blood from his mangled arm drips to the floor, but he seems unaware of it, more intent on leaning his mouth within inches of Sakura's jugular. One quick movement and he could pierce it with his teeth.

"You come any closer, I'll rip her throat out," he threatens, eyes focussed on Naruto and Sasuke.

"It'll be the last thing you ever do," Sasuke promises.

"She'll still be dead."

Kakashi is tense; he's doing his best just to stay upright and is in no position to challenge the enemy. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Sarada stir.

Sakura notices, too, keenly aware of everyone around her. Naruto and Sasuke are both frozen in place, crouched in preparation for the attack, but deceptively immobile—like lions preparing to close in on a kill.

Mumyōi brings his misshapen, wicked teeth closer to Sakura's neck and then, with a mocking chuckle, drags his tongue up the side of her face.

Sakura emits a muffled groan of disgust. Naruto snarls and takes a step forward, but Sasuke stops him.

"Don't. He'll kill her," he growls, his voice rough and weak and so utterly unlike him.

Sakura notices dimly that he is no longer covered with the dark, moving mark from before. Perhaps that's why he looks so pale now?

"Not before I get to him," Naruto retorts, and for some reason, Sakura imagines the whites of his eyes reddening. When she blinks, it's gone, and Sasuke is strengthening his hold on him.

"Oh," Mumyōi taunts, taking a few steps backward with Sakura. "Is this one yours? Perhaps I'll bring her along with me. Just to keep you off my back, you see."

"You're not taking her anywhere," Naruto informs him.

Sakura glances once more to Sarada, wanting to ensure she is alright, and trying to think of a way out of it. Her brain is sluggish, not wanting to plan, but at the same time, as she watches Sarada fight her way back to full consciousness, she feels her own resolve harden.

Sakura's lips firm into a line and she narrows her eyes, forehead wrinkled in calculation. Sweat beads down the side of her neck and, like her teammates, her body is taut and ready to spring. Carefully, she draws out the last weapon she has on her.

A kunai with an explosive tag wrapped around it.

Instantly, Sarada knows what Sakura is thinking.

Sakura isn't in a position where she can stab Mumyōi, not without getting herself killed. And she could always miss. That would still leave him with the ability to harm the others before they take him out. If she ignites the tag where she stands, however—

"Don't…don't do it!" Sarada cries—or tries to, but her voice comes out cracked and weak.

Mumyōi chuckles, taking the warning as a plea for Sakura's life. "Crawl on your knees and beg, girlie."

"It's all right," Sakura whispers tightly, deliberately meeting Sarada's gaze. "It'll be fast. It doesn't matter about me as long as you're all safe."

"No!" Sarada gasps. "You don't understand!"

"You're important," Sakura says firmly, despite the tremble of her lips. "I'll protect you even with my life."

"Sakura!"

There is a chorus of voices that shout out for her as the others now realise what she's about to do. And then several things happen in quick succession.

Sakura ignites the tag.

Sarada screams.

And then—

"RASENGAN!"

A powerful blast hits Mumyōi from the back, forcing him to let go of Sakura. She's thrown to the ground while the clawed man is propelled forward by a huge ball of energy. It drives him across the chasm beyond the reservoir, over the drop, and out of sight.

"What the—" Naruto demands because the attack didn't come from him.

"Take that, you freak!" a familiar voice crows.

A dark shape appears in the space Mumyōi once occupied, all dishevelled blond hair and torn clothes, but so very much _alive_.

"Who the hell is this?" Sasuke demands.

"Boruto!" Sarada gasps, disbelief and relief overtaking her.

"Did I just save your ass, _princess_?" her teammate mocks with a grin. "I totally saved your ass because I'm awesome. Believe it!"

"You…idiot…" she murmurs, and she can't help but smile because, finally, something is going _right_.

"Seriously, you'll never be Hokage if you need—"

But what she needs, she never learns, because Sakura suddenly screams, "Get back, everyone!"

The tag in her hand is still live, and although she hurls it away from herself, it's too late.

The rest happens as if in slow motion.

An explosion rocks the cavern.

The ground beneath their feet erodes, and before Sarada's eyes, the nearest section of the dam crumbles.

The water in the makeshift reservoir spills violently down the drop, and the turbines of the power station falter. The lights in the cave flicker, and then go out, and that's all that she can see because she is flying backward through dust and debris.

It all happens so fast that, if it weren't for his Sharingan, Sasuke wouldn't have caught it. As it is, it's not until it's all over that his brain catches up and puts the sequence of events back together:

Before the air filled with dust, he saw Sakura, her hand outstretched toward Sarada. His own instinctual reaction was also to seek out the girl from the future. When he found her, she was lying on the ground—he's still not sure why—and too far away for him to get to.

Next, Kakashi shoved her out of the direct path of the explosion as the ground collapsed beneath them. Sasuke might not have be able to get to Sarada, but he was close enough to at least yank the strange blond kid out of the way. The strange blond kid who appeared out of nowhere and somehow wields Naruto's Rasengan.

There was no time to dwell on suspicion, not with the danger of being ripped apart by explosives or having the ceiling cave in on him looming. Sasuke pulled them both out of range, body complaining at every burst of exertion, until they were safely ensconced in the tunnel Kakashi tried to lead them through earlier. He remembers being vaguely aware of Kakashi dodging out of the way as well, of Naruto calling Sakura's name.

He takes a little longer than usual to recover. He's weak, and using the curse-seal for as long as he did—longer than he ever has, actually—completely drained his strength. Not just his chakra, but his physical abilities. His muscles ache like they're consuming themselves. He can't even keep a hold of the collar of the blond kid's jacket— _Black and pink? Ever heard of camouflage?—_ because his fingers are shaking.

Several metres away from Sasuke, Kakashi moans painfully as he sits up. He's been knocked back, and the neatly stitched wound in his chest is weeping blood again.

The other boy— _Boruto. That's what she called him—_ appears dazed and crawls away from Sasuke to survey the surrounding damage.

By a stroke of luck, the grotto hasn't caved in, but there's a massive crater blown into the floor. It fills rapidly with water as pieces of the surrounding rock continue to crumble in.

"Dad?" the boy mutters, searching around him.

Sasuke freezes, staring at him, because there is _no freaking way that—_

There's a cough from across the room, and several piles of rubble shift. A familiar orange sleeve sticks out and drags its owner out. "Ouch…"

"Dad!" Boruto calls, scrambling to his feet and toward Naruto. "Dad! Are you okay?"

Naruto blinks up at this strange blond kid with bleary eyes, and painfully glances around. " _Dad_? Who are you talking about?"

Boruto gapes at him, but anything he might've been about to say is cut off by a terrified scream rending the air.

"MAMA!"

It's not the word itself, reverberating within the ruined cave which causes everyone to whirl around. Nor is it the utter fear contained in it. It's the fact that it's Sarada, and that she's cut off by a choking gurgle—like she's suddenly been sucked underwater.

The dust clears just in time to watch a flash of pink and the white-on-red circle of Sakura's back disappear over the edge of the falls.

Sasuke's heart lurches, but his legs remain rooted to the spot.

"Sakura!" Naruto screams, struggling to his feet, while Boruto cries, "Sarada!"

Both of them stumble almost to the ledge itself before someone grabs them from behind; Kakashi has managed to get to his feet, despite his injuries, and has seized both boys by the collar. "Stop!" he orders, towing them away from the precarious drop. "You'll go over, too, if you're not careful!"

"But Sakura—"

"Sarada's—"

"We don't know what's down there, and jumping in after them will just get you killed," Kakashi insists, voice firm.

"It doesn't matter! We have to go after them!" Naruto argues.

"If we don't, they could die!" Boruto agrees.

Kakashi's throat feels clogged, and not from dust. There's nothing he wants more than to make sure his student and the girl from the future are all right. But enough of today has been spent ignoring protocol in favour of emotion, all of which has done nothing but exacerbate the situation they find themselves in now. And so, staring down at the similar faces of Naruto and—he suspects—the jinchūriki's future son, Kakashi forces himself to stand firm.

"They could," he agrees with a heavy heart. "And if they are, you two killing yourselves won't help them. And knowing both Sakura and Sarada, they would never forgive either of you for hurting yourselves on their behalf."

"But Kakashi-sensei—"

" _Idiot!"_

The word is punctuated by the sound of bone hitting stone.

Kakashi, Naruto and Boruto turn to see Sasuke, his back to them, with one fist set in a small indentation of stone where he's punched the wall. Blood trickles from between his knuckles.

"Hey!" Naruto protests.

But for once, Sasuke isn't talking about Naruto.

"She's an idiot!" he growls, voice a low whisper that swells with rage and…something else.

Kakashi's eyes soften. This is about Sakura.

"She shouldn't have done that," Sasuke continues, shoulders tense. "Sacrificing herself for us. And with such an idiotic idea. What the hell good did it do?"

"Are you stupid?!" Naruto yells, stalking forward to shove his teammate; it's a measure of how weakened Sasuke is that he can't even retaliate. "She didn't do it for us, you bastard. Didn't you hear?"

"Get off me!"

"She knows what Sarada means to you! She thought she was doing what you would want—she was protecting someone who's important to you!"

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it? If she dies, so does Sarada."

Naruto frowns, not having expected that. "What do you mean?"

Sasuke stares at him and then disgust overtakes his features. "You can't be this stupid," he sighs, the rage abruptly draining out of him. He relaxes, all fight gone. He no longer cares what anyone else has to say about the matter. Secrets are useless anyhow. "Sakura is Sarada's mother."

"What?" Naruto whispers, taking a step back. "No way…"

Something like pain flickers across his features, but even as slow as Naruto is, he can see the information once it's laid out for him. In his own fashion, he goes over all the events of today and realises the truth.

"Did she know?" Naruto asks, tentative.

Sasuke turns away again, shielding his face from view. "It doesn't matter."

A sharp jolt of worry shoots through Kakashi. "Sasuke," he says, willing the boy to turn around. When he doesn't, he adopts a more commanding tone, "Sasuke. Let me see your eyes. Right now."

Slowly, Sasuke turns to meet his teacher's gaze, his jaw set, anger still written on his features. His Sharingan is active, the _tomoe_ spinning in a wild circle…but they are very clearly still _tomoe_ and not the kaleidoscope pinwheel of a Mangekyō. The potential loss of Sakura and Sarada have not caused him to awaken the evolved form of his kekkei genkai.

Kakashi allows himself to exhale in relief. And then mentally chastises himself for jumping to conclusions.

"You don't think they've died," Kakashi states, taking care with each syllable. Sasuke nods, the movement stiff, as Kakashi words what he's already pieced together.

Naruto, on the other hand, eyes his teammate and teacher with suspicion and demands, "How do you know? And what do Sasuke's eyes have to do with…oh."

He remembers their conversation about what can cause a Sharingan to evolve.

The strange kid frowns, looking between them. "I don't get it."

Kakashi doesn't answer him, but fixes his attention on the new addition to their group. "You're Boruto, right?"

The boy who's been listening to all of this with a stunned expression on his face so far, shakes himself and faces Kakashi almost at attention. "Yeah," he says, eyes wide in surprise; they're bluer than Naruto's. Although he favours his father in looks—right down to the whiskers—his face shape is different. Likely, he takes after his mother, whoever she might be. Kakashi has more ideas about that, but now isn't the time.

"Who is Sarada?" he asks.

The kid looks at him like he's insane. "Are you kidding me? She was with you this whole time, right? You should know that!"

"I'm asking _you_. Who is she to you?"

The kid's cheeks take on a somewhat rosier hue, and he glares at Kakashi. "She's my teammate and my friend, believe it! And I thought she was dead! I want to know how you know she's still alive, so we can go save her!"

"Because you're here," Sasuke answers. "You're here and you still remember who she is. And who Sakura is."

"Of course, I know who she is! She's…" He trails off, narrowing his eyes. "Oh. I get it."

"Well, I don't!" Naruto yells, frustrated at the lack of answers.

Boruto gives him a despairing look. "You _are_ stupid, aren't you?"

"If Boruto—someone from the future, who Sarada talked to us about—is still here, it means the timelines haven't altered irrevocably. And if Boruto remembers who both Sarada and Sakura are, it means his timeline hasn't changed, either," Kakashi explains with deliberate patience. "If Sakura died, Sarada wouldn't exist. So, she's all right. Somewhere."

"And we can rescue her!" Naruto cheers, cluing in at last.

"Okay, fine. That's great. But what about Sarada?" Boruto challenges, shooting his father an annoyed, sideways glare. "Just because I remember all that stuff doesn't mean she might not be dead down there!"

"She's not," Sasuke says.

"How do you know?"

"I…" He's unsure for a moment, and then shrugs. "She isn't."

He can't explain his sudden certainty. And he doesn't want to say the overly emotional words Sarada used—that they are _connected_ , somehow. But he has long known that if anything were to happen to any member of his squad—Naruto, Kakashi or Sakura—he would know it in his gut. This certainty is an extension of that intuition.

Still, alive or not, both Sakura and Sarada could be injured, wherever they are. And if Mumyōi survived the fall as well…

Naruto wants to push the issue. He hates it when Sasuke gets cryptic like that. Now is not the time, especially with this new weird-looking kid who's glaring at him like he's showed up for training naked or something. But even as he opens his mouth, he takes in Sasuke's defensive, uncertain posture…and he gets it. In that moment, Sasuke's behaviour in the past few minutes— _hell, in the past few hours!_ —makes sense.

Naruto might harbour feelings for their teammate, and might uselessly wish she'd return those, but he knows it's a losing battle. And the annoying part is—the thing that made Naruto outraged on Sakura's behalf all this time—is that he knows Sasuke cares about Sakura. In his own repressed, emotionally constipated way, he considers her precious.

Naruto knows because he was in that hospital room when Granny Tsunade healed Sasuke. He watched Sakura wrap her arms around him in relief. He remembers her face that day, looking as if she'd just received the greatest gift in the world. She smiled the first real smile he'd seen since they carted Sasuke's unconscious body back after their run-in with Itachi.

Naruto also remembers Sasuke, confused and disoriented, instinctively leaning into Sakura that day, a look of complete vulnerability on his face. It's a look he'd never seen on his teammate, and it made him feel as if he was intruding on something immensely private.

It's the same feeling he has right now as he watches Sasuke struggle knowing that two members of his future family are missing, one of them possibly dead.

Naruto exhales, deciding that once again he must step in, if only to save Sasuke from brooding himself into a seizure or something. _No time to whine about hurt feelings…_

"Well, standing around here won't do anything," he declares. "Especially since it looks like Sasuke will one day get his head out of his ass." He sticks his tongue out at Sasuke. "But don't think this gets you off the hook, asshole. Low blow, stealing my girl."

The confused and almost insulted expression on Sasuke's face is totally worth it.

"Hey! What the hell are you talking about?!" Boruto demands. "You can't like someone who isn't Mom! And definitely not Aunt Sakura! Uncle Sasuke will murder you!"

Sasuke's eye twitches.

 _Uncle Sasuke?_

"Listen here, you brat, I can like whoever I want!" Naruto shouts back, going almost nose-to-nose with the boy. "And I—" He cuts himself off, blinks, and then stares at Boruto in suspicion. "Wait. Who's your Mom? And why would it matter if I…"

His words dry up in his throat.

 _Wait a second._

This Boruto guy has been talking about his dad almost since he showed up, and now he's looking at Naruto like he's missing something utterly obvious and important.

The penny drops. As does Naruto's jaw.

"No. Way."

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	17. Chapter Fourteen

Something hard hits Sarada on the head, filling her with a dizzying confusion. She's only dimly aware that she too is being thrown toward the dark drop of the now rushing waterfall.

Instinct more than awareness forces her to grab outward with her less-injured hand; luck rather than skill result in her catching hold of anything. Frantically, she tries to summon up even the smallest modicum of chakra to keep her grasp on the slippery ledge of the drop.

Nothing.

Her fingers scrabble uselessly against the slick rock, and her body sinks inevitably backward.

A hand snatches out and fastens around Sarada's wrist.

" _Sha…na…ro_!"

Sakura looms above her, face flushed with exertion, one hand adhering herself to the ledge with her chakra, the other keeps a tight hold of Sarada. The magnetic sensation around her wrist tells Sarada that her mother is using her chakra to keep them connected to each other.

"I've…got…you!" Sakura pants. "Swing yourself up!"

But chakra grip aside, Sarada's palm is slick. It's hard to keep hold with the spray covering them both. She grits her teeth in effort as her much-abused arms burn in protest. She wants to follow the directive, to get enough momentum for Sakura to swing her back to the top of the ledge, but she literally has no strength left.

"I'm slipping!" she cries, and it's as if those words are a curse because her fingers begin to glide from the ring of Sakura's.

"Hold on!" Sakura orders then cranes her neck around, maybe to ask for help. _Where are the others_?!

"I can't!"

"You have to!" Sakura tries to regain her grip. She leans farther over the ledge to the point where chakra won't hold her up if she keeps at this much longer. "If you don't, you'll…"

Sarada knows whatever is down below will be too much for her. Without strength or chakra, she'll either be swept up in the brutal current of the spillway, or dashed to pieces against the distant terrain.

And if Sakura isn't careful, she'll join her.

That isn't something that can happen, or all of her past and her parent's future will be destroyed.

There's only one thing to do.

Tears gather in her eyes as the very real fear of death hits her for the first time today.

"Let go!" Sarada orders, speaking around the growing lump in her throat.

"What?! No!"

"You'll fall, too, if you don't!"

"No! Keep holding on!" Sakura insists, trying to tighten her grasp. "Someone will be here in a second to help, you just have to—"

Sarada's fingers slide, and she flies backward into the darkness.

Her stomach swoops, and she's hit by the realisation that this is it. She'll never see her parents again or get to say goodbye. It's enough to rip the primal, plaintive shriek from her throat as she heads for the inevitable end.

"MAMA!"

Sarada's scream echoes above the roaring water, but that barely registers. As she falls backward, caught up in the rushing water, she sees Sakura tumble forward as well, eyes wide and hand still reaching out for her.

Sarada is falling backward, falling away—

And then, abruptly, water is bearing down on her from all sides. There's a sense of impact—jarring and sudden and bewildering in its intensity. She's twisted painfully this way and that, shoved against the rocky floor of the falls. Her skin scrapes as the current whips her across slippery stone like a rag-doll, tearing with every rush of the current.

There is nothing but blackness around her, a rush of water assaulting her eyes. She no longer has the strength to call on the Sharingan. There's no way to see any way out of here. More likely, she's doomed to be bashed against the rocks until the final darkness overtakes her.

Sarada tries to hold her breath—a precious lungful she stole as she screamed for her mother— but the effort is futile. Between the agony of her body being hauled by the merciless flow of the underground river and the repeated impacts against rocks on all sides, she has no choice.

Her mouth is open, and she inhales water and blood. Her lungs fill, throat burning, ribs protesting, and _oh gods_ , she will really die this time!

Something clamps around her shoulder—the injured one—and she screams, soundless. White-hot pain flashes across her eyes. Awareness slips away, and she senses unconsciousness looming a final time. There will be no more waking, and this time, she's resigned to it.

 _Mama. Papa. I'm sorry. I tried…_

There's an abrupt shift of her world. Sensation assaults her from all sides, fighting back the beckoning unconsciousness. The world becomes clearer by inches, colder and drier. Something has yanked her out of the maelstrom.

Her body recoils, pulling in on itself as she is tossed onto solid ground. Dizzy and nauseous, Sarada struggles to flip over. Gentle, shaking hands help turn her, holding her steady as she expels liquid through her mouth and nose. She vomits up water and bile, trying simultaneously to draw in precious oxygen. The heaving movements are jarring, and she can't help sobbing in pain, because _just how much is she expected to take today?!_ When she recovers enough that breathing on her own isn't impossible, she stares in search of her mysterious saviour.

Only to find Sakura kneeling beside her.

The girl is a mess of bruises and scratches, pink locks plastered against her face with water and blood. Her breathing is so violent that her shoulders shake with every inhale. In her hand, she clutches a battered glow stick so tightly that her knuckles are white.

"H…" Sarada begins, but winces because talking hurts her raw throat. She swallows with difficulty. "How did you do that?"

Sakura needs a few more moments before she answers. " _S-Suichū Ikidzukai_ ," she whispers, teeth chattering. "A-almost didn't w-w-work."

 _Water-breathing technique._

"Right," Sarada says, closing her eyes as she lays back on the ground. "You're also a water type. I forgot."

"So do I, most days," Sakura confesses, forcing herself to relinquish her death grip on the glow stick. There are bloody half-moon imprints of her nails in her palm from how tightly she held it.

She doesn't elaborate that it was a split-second decision—either try not to drown, or make the hand signs. If she had chosen wrong, they would both be dead right now. She's tries not to dwell on that. Or that, once she had the chakra bubble surrounding her with a temporary supply of air, she had to find Sarada in the darkness. The glow-stick she happened to still have only offered a little light. It was only because the current threw them up against the same submerged rock she even caught hold of her. Even then, there was no guarantee they would ever surface again. Underground streams can run for miles, and it's only by luck that this one empties into an outdoor river. Even luckier than that, she had just enough chakra left to get herself and Sarada out of the plunge pool down at the bottom.

Mumyōi wasn't so lucky.

Her eyesight isn't great, so she didn't witness his end herself, but while she towed Sarada to safety, she caught sight of the creature trapped below. One of his clawed hands was caught somehow under fallen rocks, the other grasping fruitlessly upward as he tried to free himself. Drowning is one of the least pleasant deaths Sakura knows about. She tries to feel remorse, but Mumyōi was a monster. She's glad they don't have to deal with him anymore.

Sakura helps move Sarada into a recovery position on her side and falls into one of her own. All the tension holding her together disappears and, for the first time in what seems like weeks, she allows herself to breathe.

Brilliant moonlight shines overhead, the air fresh and crisp. It's a stark contrast to the stale oxygen in the tunnels. Sakura doesn't know where they are—in relation to Konoha or the entrance to Orochimaru's base—and, at the moment, she doesn't care. All that matters is that they survived and are out of the underground tunnels.

Well…that's almost all that matters.

"…you called me _Mama_."

It's not the best way to end the brief solace of the moment, but enough of this day has been lost in misunderstandings. She needs the air to be clear, and she needs it to happen now.

Sarada doesn't answer right away, but she must also have grown tired of the subterfuge because she sighs, "Yeah."

"Was that just a reaction to falling to your death, or did you mean…"

"I meant it."

"So, I'm your…"

"Yes."

"I'm a mom," Sakura states quietly, eyes going out of focus as she tries to wrap her head around the information. "I'm _your_ mom."

"Right."

"And Sasuke's your dad."

"We've already covered this."

"Which means—"

"It's not that complicated," Sarada interjects. "Don't think about it too hard, okay? It's already caused way too much—"

"I marry Sasuke," Sakura whispers. "I really…"

Sarada shifts her head to one side, wincing as she squints at Sakura. She's startled to see tears gathering in the corner of her eyes.

 _"Ehh!_ Are you upset about that?" she demands, suddenly uncertain. She would've thought Sakura would be thrilled about this, but now she's crying. She did not see that coming and—

"This is so…so… _SHANNARO_!" Sakura yells in delight, rolling closer to Sarada and grabbing her in a tight, one-armed hug around her ribs.

"Ack! You're choking me!"

"Sorry!" Sakura squeaks, pushing herself back with a penitent look on her face. "Sorry…sweetheart? Honey? What do I call you, anyway?"

"Let's stick with Sarada. It's less weird. I mean, you're like a year older than me right now, so…"

"Okay. Right! Of course!" Sakura declares, her cheeks pink and eyes bright with delight. She sits up and clasps her hands together. "Oh, this is amazing! I don't…I don't know what to think! Or…wait…yes, I do. Why me?" Her gleeful smile disappears with the same abruptness in which it appeared, replaced with unease. "I mean, he can't stand me. Why would he ever…" Before Sarada can answer, Sakura frowns thoughtfully. "Wait. Before, you said _strongest kunoichi_ …and you were talking about me." Her shoulders droop. "That's it. That's the only reason he would ever look at me. So, I have to get strong. I have to—"

"Would you stop it?!" Sarada demands, cutting of Sakura's uncertain self-recriminations. "You're plenty strong, and you shouldn't want to change yourself just to get some jerk's attention!"

"That _jerk_ is your father!"

"No, that jerk is someone my father used to be," Sarada corrects her. "My father is strong and caring and loyal. And he respects his wife and his friends and he doesn't think the world is beneath him. And my mother is a talented shinobi who could break him if he so much as looked at her wrong—not that he ever would. But she did that all on her own, and he wasn't involved in her getting more powerful. So, if you want to get stronger, do it for yourself, not because you want him to like you."

There's a heavy silence following her outburst. Sarada has to inhale deeply a few times to recapture her breath. It's for the best, as Sakura needs time to process.

When she does, she tentatively asks, "Why didn't you say anything before?"

Sarada makes a face. "No offence…but you are kind of silly," she admits, apologetic. "This you, anyway. I thought you'd do something stupid."

"Like what?!"

"Just…something. Though, whatever I imagined is way less foolish than almost blowing yourself up and then throwing yourself off a cliff," she points out. "And I thought Uncle Naruto had the market cornered on crazy stunts…"

"You've done some pretty crazy stuff yourself."

"I come by it honestly," Sarada retorts, but she's smiling. It is as if a giant weight has lifted off her shoulders. As for Sakura…many different emotions flicker across her green eyes. Unlike when Sasuke found out, her face is an open book, one which Sarada can read with ease—embarrassment, fear, elation, curiosity.

"I get my eyes from my father," Sarada tells her tentatively. "Except I need glasses."

"I wear contacts," Sakura confesses.

"Oh."

"Sorry."

"No, it's…huh. You don't wear them in the future. You never told me that," Sarada muses. "I guess that's down to your ability to heal. I asked you once, but you said maybe it was because of… Anyway, I haven't learned how to self-heal yet. And I'm only just learning how to control my strength like you."

"But I'm not strong."

"Not now, maybe. But if _you_ had watched you since you were able to walk, you'd able to crush boulders, too," Sarada assures her, and then frowns "Did that sentence make sense? It did in my head…Anyway, I also inherited your perfect chakra control, so…"

Sakura's eyes mist over again and she sniffs, wiping her nose.

"Why are you crying again?" Sarada demands.

"B-because I'm happy," Sakura tells her. "One day…I will be strong. You said it. I will be more than just a tagalong. I'll be as good as the others. And…" Her watery smile is pure joy now. "I'll get to be with the person I love most in the whole world, and that's… I've just never been so happy!"

Contrary to her words, she bursts into another round of tears.

Sarada can't help but think that, no matter what age, her mother never stops being weird.

Sakura abruptly curls a fist out in front of her, mouth quirking in a grim, determined smile. "I _will_ work hard, so I deserve it—just watch!" she declares. Then she unfurls the fist and points at Sarada. "First things first. We're going to deal with _that_."

"With what?"

"Let me see your arm," Sakura commands.

Sarada braves a glance to her right, where the burning pain has become a dull, constant throb. The much-abused limb is even more mangled than it was at the beginning of the day. Despite her half-hearted joke about amputation earlier, she wonders if that's not exactly what will have to happen, given the severity of the injury.

"If we're going to keep getting in trouble, we need to fix it."

"Yeah. But I can't do it myself," Sarada sighs. "I'm completely tapped out. I don't even think I could stand right now."

"So, talk me through it." When Sarada protests, Sakura goes on, "You said I'll be amazing in the future, so I can be amazing now, too. If Kakashi could talk me through a summoning, and I could lend you chakra to save him, you can talk me through this."

"You've got to be nearing your limit now, too, though."

"It doesn't matter. You're the stronger kunoichi right now, whatever I am in the future. So, it's more important that you're in your best condition, so you can get us out of here safely. I was serious about what I said before—you're the one who matters."

"Yeah, but if you accidently get yourself killed, I won't exist," Sarada reminds her.

"Then we won't do that," Sakura retorts, as if that's the obvious answer. "Now, tell me what to do!"

Sarada can't help shaking her head in amusement. Once again, she's seeing facets of her own mother, and it's a huge comfort. "Okay."

She starts to slowly sit up, knowing she must at least demonstrate some of what Sakura is asking her to teach her. As she does, Sakura goes red.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Sarada frowns. "Tell me."

"No! Really! I only…realised," Sakura falters, avoiding Sarada's gaze. "It's just… If Sasuke and I have a daughter one day, it means we…"

If Sarada had the energy, she would slap her forehead in exasperation.

"Wow. You have a dirty mind even when you're my age."

"Wh-what? No, it's nothing like that, I…" Sakura falters, eyes shifting from side to side as she tries to come up with a lie.

"Whatever," Sarada rolls her eyes and holds up her arm. "Are we going to try this, or what?"

Sakura nods rapidly and reaches out, placing her fingers lightly above Sarada's shattered fingers and closing her eyes in concentration.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry!"

"It's fine," Sarada assures Sakura with a wince. "Just…a little less chakra, okay? If you don't, you'll end up blowing up the bone, instead of rebuilding it."

Sakura doesn't answer, her eyes intent on the hand in front of her. Sweat trickles down her forehead, and her face is almost the same colour as her hair. Her hands hover several inches above Sarada's shattered arm, spread fingers glowing intermittently with cool, green healing chakra.

Her breathing is harsh, like she's forcing herself to stay calm and keep in control. Sarada grits her teeth, feeling the splintered remnants of her first metacarpal bone pulling back together. It burns in a way she's not used to, as if the chakra pulling it together is made of barbed wire, instead of spider silk.

After almost fifteen minutes of struggling, Sakura falls back on her haunches and exhales loudly. "I can't anymore," she admits guiltily.

"It's okay. Take a rest," Sarada tells her encouragingly. "You did really well." Gingerly lifting her hand, she tries not to feel sick at the colourful, macabre sight of the appendage. Her right thumb is as bruised as the rest of her, but the bone doesn't hurt anymore. "In a few days, it'll be good as new."

"One bone down, twenty-six to go," Sakura sighs, dejected.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You've never done this before. Even Papa or Lord Sixth couldn't manage it."

Sakura tries to smile at that, but her fatigue is palpable. "Lady Tsunade always makes this look so easy. I did one bone, and it feels like I just ran a marathon!"

Sarada knows what she means. Medical ninjutsu is deceptively complex. Even healing a minor hairline fracture is challenging for most elite ninja. There's so much to concentrate on all at once—keeping the blood flowing properly, fighting off outside bacteria, stimulating regeneration of new cells, ensuring the blood-cell count remains at the right level. That's part of the reason it was best to start with one of the larger bones first—the smaller the bone, the more meticulous the healer needs to be. Even Sarada doesn't want to test her luck any more today.

The girls sit for a while, recovering their energy. They're fortunate in that there's no rain tonight, and the air is pleasantly cool instead of frigid. It wouldn't be fun to add hypothermia to their list of things that've gone wrong.

As it is, Sarada doesn't even have the energy to create a fire for them. Sakura ends up kindling a small blaze together to keep the damp away. Both girls huddle together in their underthings; the heavier clothing they wore before is wrung out and laid close enough to the fire to dry.

By mutual agreement, they decide not to try to find the rest of their respective teams just yet. With their injuries and overall poor condition, it's more likely they would meet some other kind of trouble long before reuniting with their friends.

"At least the stars are more visible now," Sakura sighs, looking up. "I can probably figure out how to get back to the entrance of the hideout when we do leave here."

"It might not help," Sarada points out. "We can't be sure which tunnels got caved in while we were there."

"Oh, yeah."

"But it's like Lord Sixth said—there's probably more than one way in there. If they keep looking for a way out, and we find a way in, we'll probably run into them again."

"If they don't think we're dead," Sakura sighs, hugging her knees to her. She's begun to shiver, but there's not much they can do about that besides lean closer to one another.

Sarada has no answer for her. By rights, they should be dead, and a true shinobi would accept that fact straight away to continue the mission. Isn't that what Papa would say? And Lord Sixth, for all his belief in not leaving comrades behind, would understand that the risks of coming after them outweigh the importance of maintaining the timeline. It's what he should do, even if she supposes Boruto and Naruto won't be happy about it. She doesn't know how the young Sasuke will react. If the past day has shown her anything, it's that she doesn't really know her father at all.

They are quiet again, Sakura's eyes roving over Sarada's face. She bites her lip and shifts, like she's trying to get comfortable, but Sarada can see the curiosity in her eyes. She wants to ask questions, but knows she shouldn't.

"You might as well ask," she points out, a little more amused than resigned. "If the world hasn't collapsed by now, I figure you and the rest of your team will forget all about this."

"I don't want to forget!" Sakura protests. "I mean, I did before when I thought—but now, it's different!"

"And you knowing it's different could change everything," Sarada points out. "There's a lot of stuff _I_ don't even know about, things my parents don't talk about, and you knowing your future might change those things. And that might change how it all happens. You really want to risk that?"

"No, I guess not," Sakura laments. She's quiet for a long moment and then side-eyes Sarada. "But I can ask you _some_ stuff, right?"

"I guess…" Sarada hesitates because there are still some things that have to be patently off-limits. "This whole situation is so strange."

"Time-travel, long-lost family, and clone monsters. It sounds like the plot to a _Princess Gale_ movie."

"And I thought the Chūnin Exams were messed up."

"You've taken the Exam?" Sakura inquires, interested. "How'd you do?"

"I made it to the finals. I got knocked through a wall, though, and couldn't continue."

" _Shannaro_! You're lucky. I didn't make it past the preliminaries. Ino and I knocked each other out."

"Yeah. You guys still fight about that. Both of you insist the other one passed out first."

"It was totally her."

"Obviously."

"What round was it? Did anyone on your team go on to the last match?"

"No…it sort of got cancelled on account of, um, monster attack."

Sakura can't help the surprised laugh. "Yours too, huh? Was it a giant sand beast?"

"Aliens."

" _What_?"

"It's…complicated."

"I don't think I want to know."

They're silent again.

"I was wondering—"

"So, how long—"

They both start talking and stop at the same time.

"You first," Sakura suggests.

"It's not important," Sarada murmurs, apologetic. "I was just curious. About that mark your Sasuke has. It's the same that Mumyōi had, and the Ghost-Man. Does that mean he's…is he dangerous?" Sakura considers for a long moment, like she isn't sure what she can and cannot say about it. "It's just, where I come from, he has nothing like that. Until today, I didn't even realise something like that existed."

Sakura relaxes in relief. "Someone got rid of it. Thank goodness."

"So, it _is_ bad."

"Let's just say…it doesn't surprise me that I wouldn't talk about it in the future. When Orochimaru did that to him—I've never been so scared in my entire life. I was terrified Sasuke would die."

"Lord Sixth said those marks, they cause insanity. And rage. Don't you worry he'd ever—?"

"No." Iron enters Sakura's tone, the most certainty she's displayed all day. "You saw it yourself—he was fighting to protect us. That's why he used the curse seal. We're his team, and we stick together!"

"Oh. Okay." Sarada isn't privy to all the details, but she knows for a fact that one day—possibly soon—that won't be true.

Again, there is silence between them. It's broken by Sakura, who hesitantly asks, "Are we…happy?"

Of all the questions she expected that wasn't one of them. Sarada shifts painfully around to meet her mother's gaze head on and is met with an expression of vulnerability and insecurity.

It's a difficult question to answer, and one that Sarada has spent most of her life puzzling over. She knows her parents' relationship isn't typical. Her father's long absence aside, she suspects that, even if he'd been completely present her whole life, he and her mother wouldn't be considered a normal couple. To an outsider looking in, her parents don't present a picture of perfect marital bliss. Behind closed doors, however…

Rather than tell Sakura her life's story, Sarada simply smiles. "Yeah. I think you are."

"Really? Because you said before that we're both going to be great shinobi, and he respects me, and we're connected and… Well, you never… I mean, that doesn't mean he…that we…" Sakura scowls at herself, annoyed that her words aren't coming out how she wants them to. "It's just, I know how important it is to him—restoring the Uchiha clan. I don't want to just be a— Not that it's a bad thing. I'd do anything to make him happy. But am I…"

She can't seem to say the words, and Sarada takes pity on her. "Are you going to be happy, too?"

Sakura bites her lip again and nods, looking away. It's not hard to extrapolate what she's really asking because there's only ever been one thing that could make her truly happy.

"You want to know if he really loves you," Sarada realises.

Sakura blushes and doesn't meet her gaze.

Sarada considers how to answer this. The short answer is, of course, yes. But the Sasuke of this time is such a distant figure that she understands why Sakura is so uneasy—or why she might not believe the truth.

 _I'd really like to meet whoever made Papa so emotionally messed up, so I can set them on fire._

"There's this look you two get," Sarada says out loud, visualising it even as she speaks. "You might be right in the middle of a conversation, or doing laundry, or just walking past each other in the house—and it's like the whole world disappears and you're just…existing together."

Sakura is holding her breath, staring with wide eyes.

Sarada shrugs with her good shoulder. "I'm not sure how else to describe it. But it's way more awkward to walk in on you doing that than walking in on you…doing other things."

Sakura squeaks in embarrassment and, possibly, delight.

"Anyway, Uncle Naruto complains about it all the time, too. He says you've been doing that since you guys were genin. I haven't seen it happen in this time—because, like I said, your Sasuke's a big jerk—" Sarada grins at the mock glare Sakura sends her, "but Uncle Naruto doesn't lie."

Sakura hugs her arms to herself, looking supremely pleased. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

A pause. "Are there others? I mean, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No. It's just me."

"Oh."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"No. You have _Something-Face_."

"It's just…I always imagined I'd have at least two," Sakura admits. "A boy and a girl. Maybe more, but I always wanted two."

Sarada digests this. "You never said anything like that."

"Oh, I don't mean that. I'm sure we're totally happy just having you because you're seriously amazing. It's only—"

"No, it's not that. I just never thought about it before—that you guys would've wanted more." Sarada ponders the situation. If her father hadn't left on his mission, is it possible she would've had a brother or sister? Growing up, it's something she always wanted, but never mentioned, because she suspected it would make her mother sad. "But there are so few Uchiha," she says finally. "I would've thought he'd want more, too, if only to…" An idea occurs to Sarada. "Is what he said before true?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did his brother really…"

Sakura's face goes pale in the firelight, and she looks away. "No one really knows exactly what happened that night," she whispers uncertainly, like they shouldn't be talking about this. "Only Sasuke knows for sure, and no one's ever asked him. Or…well, if they have, he probably didn't answer them. All anyone's ever said is that, one night, the Uchiha were all dead. And Sasuke was the only one left." She shifts uncomfortably. "And he really hates his brother. I have no idea if it's because—well, if it's the truth or not—but when it comes to him, Sasuke just…stops thinking. And last time, it nearly got him killed."

"What do you mean?"

Sakura hesitates. "I'm not sure if I should…"

"Tell me."

"Itachi put him under a genjutsu," Sakura explains. "He used some kind of evolved Sharingan technique to do it—maybe the one you mentioned before. Sasuke was in a coma for weeks. If Naruto and Master Jiraiya hadn't been around, or if they hadn't brought back Lady Tsunade…" She swallows heavily, not wanting to entertain the possible outcome.

Sarada can't help being utterly confused at this. If what Sakura says is true, why is it on the rare occasions where her father speaks of Itachi, he does so with a kind of reverence?

"That doesn't make sense. Why would he do that to his own brother? Why would he do that to his own clan?"

"I-I don't know."

"Well, there's got to be a reason," Sarada protests, getting upset. "You don't _do_ something like that to people you care about! There has to be something else going on."

"I wish I could tell you, but I really have no idea," Sakura tells her apologetically. "And if—well, if he didn't tell you about it, I'm sure he had a reason."

Sarada scowls. There's always a reason with her father, and usually, it's an _official_ reason. It's the only time he's ever distant toward her or her mother. No one can be as tight-lipped as an Uchiha.

 _Apparently, that's a genetic quirk I_ didn't _inherit._

"I guess," she sighs. "Probably related to some kind of secret mission." She groans. "He will be so disappointed with me when I get home. I put my team in danger, blabbed confidential information, got separated from my squad—"

"None of that was your fault, though. It's not like he's ever had to deal with spontaneously teleporting ninjas, or time-travel bubbles," Sakura points out. Confusion passes over her features. "Although…I guess, technically, now, he has."

"You're not helping."

"Sorry."

"I wish someone could …clear up all of this so it made sense!" Sarada complains.

"That is something I would appreciate, as well," a quiet voice says from several feet away.

Both girls whip around, instinctively moving into defensive positions at the sudden appearance of another person near their campfire.

It's yet another failing on Sarada's part, not even noticing that they were being watched, let alone approached. However, when she sets eyes on their uninvited guest, her gut tells her that even if she had been in peak condition, she would have difficulty sensing this man.

Red eyes stare down at them, distantly appraising. In the moonlight, it's easy to make out the rest of his features, and shock overtakes her because this man might as well be her father.

Except his hair is much longer and, to her knowledge, her father has never worn nail polish.

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	18. Chapter Fifteen

Both Sarada and Sakura realise who the newcomer is at the same time; but their reactions are vastly different.

Sarada is intrigued, almost awed. This man standing before them is her _uncle—_ an individual that is more myth than reality to her. Curiosity and confusion overwhelm her, marring her training and better judgement.

Her first impression of him was true: he looks uncannily like her father. His hair is longer, though, and his cheekbones more defined; the rest of his features are somehow more delicate, almost feminine. Even his frame is different—shorter than her father, more lithe than wiry, like a dancer. If the stories of his exploits are true, that would make him fast as well as lethal. The delicate appearance is probably something than many an opponent has misjudged. On top of all that, he exudes a bewildering mixture of frailty and power Sarada can't decide if she is drawn to or terrified of.

Sakura has no such indecision.

The palpable fear in her body-language reminds Sarada of the harsh truth of their circumstances.

If Itachi Uchiha is alive, then he is from the past. Whatever the means by which he came to be here, in his timeline he is a dangerous criminal, not one of the many names chiselled into the memorial stone in Konoha's cemetery. He has not yet carried out whatever action will redeem him, and he is certainly not the hero her father says he is.

She needs to be careful.

"Based on your expressions, you both know who I am," he says, voice sombre and mild. Different again from Sarada's father, who at any age speaks with a hard edge of certainty and arrogance. "I've seen you before—" Itachi's eyes rest on Sakura, who is pale-faced and shaking, eyes firmly planted on the floor. Surprise and confusion cross her features, but he doesn't qualify the statement, instead turning his gaze to Sarada, "—but you're a stranger, it would seem."

He says nothing more, but the _tomoe_ in his Sharingan spin in calculation.

"Keep your eyes on his feet," Sakura whispers to Sarada, voice shaking. "If you look at him, he'll catch you in a genjutsu."

Sarada instantly looks away, shame bubbling up inside her as she realises what an elementary mistake she just made. Even if she can't help it—trying to study the man she feels she's supposed to know but doesn't—it's not excuse to forget her training.

"It's interesting that a young girl would be familiar with the abilities of a Sharingan, rare as it is," Itachi remarks. "You look like you're barely past chūnin level."

Although there is no derision in his words, Sakura blushes in embarrassment. Even if she hadn't caught a brief look at him before her senses caught up with her, she would be caught off-guard by his words. To her, his voice is far too like Sasuke's, and she has become conditioned to feel flustered when praised or criticised by an Uchiha.

"If I had wanted to use a genjutsu, there have been ample opportunities to do so," he continues. "Neither of you pose any risk to me, given your respective physical limitations."

Again, he doesn't need to elaborate. His eyes linger on Sarada's injury and Sakura's shivering form; she is still weak from her healing attempts. On top of that, both girls are crouched in their underthings, their tools and weapons out of reach.

 _Staring down one of the most dangerous shinobi in Konoha's history, and we're sitting around in our underwear. Because this day couldn't get any worse…!_

"However," Itachi continues, "If it brings you some small comfort…"

Sarada chances a quick peek, and watches his eyes fade to black.

They are the exact shade of Sarada's father's eye. She swallows a painful lump in her throat.

Itachi's apparent act of good faith doesn't stop Sakura from stepping forward, placing herself in between him and Sarada.

"Even if I didn't read about you, I'd know who you are," Sakura tells him, defiant and angry despite her fear. "I might not know exactly what happened in the past because he won't tell anyone, but I will never forgive you for what you did to Sasuke in Shukuba Town!"

Without looking directly at him, it's hard to tell if his expression changes, but Sakura imagines his mouth twitching somehow. "Ah. The other teammate. Now it makes sense. And you?"

Once again, he addresses Sarada.

Before she can answer, Sakura speaks hurriedly speaks up, "It doesn't matter who she is! And it doesn't matter who I am. We don't have anything to do with you, so you should just…go." All the while, she tries wordlessly to communicate with Sarada that she _needs to leave!_ "We weren't looking for you, we don't care that you're out here. I'm…I'm sure you've got stuff you're supposed to be doing, and we definitely do, so…we can just go our separate ways, right? We won't tell anyone we saw you!"

Her hands are shaking and there's a catch in her voice despite how hard she is trying sound firm.

She might have no idea how they're going to get out of this latest spot of trouble, but one thing she does know for sure is that she has to protect Sarada. If this man discovers who she is to Sakura, and more specifically who she is to Sasuke –

 _Well, he killed his entire clan, right? It stands to reason that if he were to discover that Sarada is the future of that clan, he wouldn't think twice._

And it's only a matter of time before he figures it out. All he needs to do is really look at her. It took Sasuke barely hours, and that only because he is so utterly focussed on his own goals that he doesn't register things happening around him. But Itachi is in full possession of his mental faculties—homicidal, mass-murdering tendencies aside—and renowned for being quick. He made ANBU captain at thirteen, if the stories are to be believed.

If this man looks too closely, he will figure it out and that's something Sakura can't allow.

"What makes you think begging me to do something will sway my decision one way or another?" Itachi questions. "I am an enemy, after all."

"Then why are you so close to Konoha?" Sarada wants to know. "You have to have been in the area for a while, or else you couldn't be here right now. Which means—"

"Stop talking!" Sakura hisses, frustrated that Sarada is unknowingly working against her. "He's dangerous!"

But Sarada can't help herself; once more, she is caught in Itachi's gaze. His eyes are deep and fathomless, unreadable if it weren't for her own strong eyesight. In them she can see careful control, a depth of intelligence and something else utterly unnameable. And, for some reason, the slightest squint to his eyes, as if he needs to concentrate to see. The minute strain there is similar to what she does when she goes without her glasses.

 _Is there something wrong with his eyes?_

Itachi frowns at Sarada, still trying to place her face but failing.

"Hey!" Sakura demands, once more forcing his attention back to her. "I'm the one talking to you, not her! What are you doing here, anyway?"

Itachi reluctantly turns away from Sarada, but she doesn't think for a second that he has forgotten her presence. The set in his jaw is too much like her father's; he is working something out even as he looks to Sakura.

His mouth tugs slightly upward in a slow, wry twist.

"My partner and I are on business," he tells her. From the slightly amused note, it's obvious he is humouring her rather than folding to her nonexistent interrogation tactics. "He's somewhere around outside the bubble. Yes, I did notice it," he adds, noting Sakura's surprised expression, "even before I heard you speaking about 'spontaneous teleporting ninjas' and 'time-travel bubbles'." Sakura and Sarada glance at one another. They wonder what else he has heard. "The Sharingan can see the layers of dimensions with ease. And this entire area is riddled with dimensional overlap."

"So, what…You just walked into a dimensional bubble?" Sakura asks. "Isn't that kind of…um…counterproductive to…whatever it is you're doing out here?"

Itachi is grim. "There are very few shinobi in this world with the ability to create such a dimensional distortion. All of those I know of are either dead or on the other side of the continent. This phenomenon is much bigger than any I have ever seen and growing. If it continues, it will likely consume the entire country, then the world. That does me no good."

"So you're here to investigate too?" Sakura muses. "Well, then you don't need two random strangers holding you back while you look, so…"

"Why is it you are so determined that I ignore your comrade?" Itachi asks her, making her freeze up. "If you are part of a protection detail, your ability to deflect attention needs work. If your charge was a target, any ninja would know just based on your behaviour."

"I'm not—it's just—You're an S-class criminal!" Sakura insists. "I would want to protect anyone from you!"

"You are lying," he tells her calmly. "Even now your intuition tells you to flee, yet you stay. Aside from my brother, it's rare for someone so young to be so intent on throwing their life away." His eyes narrow. "But then, even the strongest shinobi lose their good sense when it comes to family."

Sakura's heart stutters.

"I can tell by looking at you," Itachi goes on, taking a step forward, then another. Both Sarada and Sakura begin to back away. "Your eyes are the same shape, as are your faces. There's obvious resemblance. One would think a younger cousin if it weren't for…" He trails off, abruptly fixing Sarada in with a more pointed gaze, "The way your eyes narrow when you frown."

Sarada's eyes widen.

"That's not possible," Itachi says, more to himself than to her. He takes another step forward, and then abruptly commands, "Face me." The directive is completely unexpected, and for a moment both Sakura and Sarada wonder if they heard right. "Do as I say. Trust me when I say it's the simplest option."

"If you touch her, I will kill you," Sakura promises, venom lacing words that are much braver than she feels.

"Such an intent doesn't come naturally to you," Itachi comments. "You believe her more important than your own life? Or is it someone else she is precious to?"

Sakura's heart stutters. He's figured it out.

"Sarada, run— _run now!_ " she orders, eyes flitting to her weapons. All she needs is a second—

She hasn't even taken a step before Itachi has moved forward, holding her off the ground by the throat with one hand. The other allows a kunai to slide from his robe, and he throws it effortlessly, almost lazily, behind him, knocking away the log Sakura was about to use in substitution.

"Girl," he addresses Sarada, still utterly calm despite Sakura clutching desperately at his hand. "I have no need to make idle threats."

Whatever Sarada imagined about meeting her uncle, in dreams or the vague scenarios she entertained since time suddenly made his existence possible, this is far from it. This man before her is terrifying—more so, in a way, than the alien creatures that attacked and almost killed the Seventh Hokage.

And he wants her to face him.

Sakura makes a choking noise now.

Tears of frustration, fear and, somehow, betrayal gather in Sarada's eyes as she wills herself to stare up into the face of death. It's horribly stiff, but it's all she can manage, too panicked by the sight if her mother battling ineffectually at the fingers cutting off her oxygen.

She must succeed though, because Itachi stares at her mouth for a moment, and then lets out a quiet, stunned exhalation. His grasp lessens and Sakura falls back to her feet, gasping desperately for air.

For the first time since he appeared, Itachi appears genuinely surprised.

Sakura struggles to her feet, massaging her throat. She fully intends to grab Sarada and make a run for it, Itachi's skill and speed be damned—

Except he has recovered himself, head whipping around to stare straight at her. His eyes blaze, and the _tomoe_ spin into a new shape. She barely has a chance to note the sudden change in design, like a three-bladed wheel, and she crumples forward.

"NO!" Sarada screams, diving toward Sakura and catching her before she hits the ground. She glares up at Itachi, her own Sharingan raging to the surface. "What did you do?!"

"I have merely confirmed a theory," he says, though he sounds less neutral now. There's a catch in his voice that borders on uncertain. "You are an Uchiha."

"And you needed me to make a face to discover that?" Sarada snaps. "What kind of a sick, twisted creep are you?"

"That was not the intention. I had…simply forgotten the shape of my mother's smile."

She has no idea what to say to that, because for the briefest flicker of time she imagines she sees pain in this man. Just a moment, however, because then he looms over her—and how could she have thought he was delicate looking before?—eyes simmering with renewed fury.

"Explain yourself. You resemble this girl, and yet you resemble my parents. My brother. This should be impossible. All of the Uchiha are dead."

"Because you killed them," Sarada whispers. It's not a question, but she awaits the confirmation. Even in this moment, even now she can't quite believe it.

"Yes," he says. "And depending on your next words, you may be joining their number."

The world goes cold, but not in the same way as falling unconscious.

The night sky bleeds away, inverting until it turns red as blood, dark clouds surrounding a scarlet moon. Itachi's pale face becomes nothing but shadows, and the world around her alters until the trees and river are nothing but stylised versions of themselves.

"There's no escaping this place," Itachi tells her, "and so you may as well tell me what I wish to know."

The world that Sarada finds herself in is utterly devoid of sensation. She hears no ambient noises, cannot feel the movement of air on her skin or pick up any generic scents. The sky is red and the ground black, stretching on for miles.

Sarada is vaguely aware that she is not alone here, that Itachi Uchiha lingers only footsteps away from her, observing her with that same blank, controlled expression. She has barely made this observation when she finds herself surrounded. Not by enemies, however, but by…

Her?

All around her she sees doppelgangers of herself, in various states of activity. Every duplicate Sarada appears utterly solid, not just a flickering image, and interacts with other solid figures.

Her parents, her friends, people she's only ever seen in passing around the village…

Everyone is recognizable however all are cast in an eerie black light.

 _One version of herself shows off her_ Katon _to her father. Another Sarada stands with her mother, watching Uncle Naruto become Hokage._

Not just her. Experiences she has had.

Her memories.

And whenever she notices them, she finds herself reliving them in painfully realistic detail. Old joys and old hurts, both mental and physical, rear up and clutch at her heart as if they are really happening all over again.

 _Mama lies, pale and bedridden, while Aunt Shizune tries to comfort Sarada._

 _Sarada watches herself cower in front of her father as he brandishes a katana, his Sharingan spinning threateningly. "Is that you…Sarada…?"_

 _A week after the Chūnin Exam, Sarada leans over and notices that Boruto's eyes are much bluer than his father's—_

"Stop it!" Sarada yells, her stomach flipping with anger and embarrassment and a little fear. Tears leak from her eyes because these are personal moments, memories of times past, and she is experiencing them all over again, all at once.

"The discomfort will pass," Itachi remarks. "Mindreading is not a skill I possess. Observing you reexperience your memories is the only way I can obtain the information I need. I assure you I am being as delicate as possible."

"Try asking first!" she snarls. There are even scenes playing out which she has forgotten or is incapable of remembering on her own.

 _On the first day at the Academy, no one will speak to young Sarada. She's an Uchiha—the only child of an infamous clan, the daughter of a man considered a hero and traitor all at once. The other children avoid her, whisper when they think she can't hear. Chōchō Akimichi doesn't care what other people think and sits beside her, offers her chips and just starts talking._

 _A toddler Sarada holds tight to the hands of her parents, taking tentative steps forward; whenever she stumbles, two firm grasps keep her upright._

 _As an infant, she is terrified and cold and surprised, staring up at a redheaded woman that looks even more perplexed to be holding her in her hands. In the background, an exhausted Mama rests against a sterile cot while Papa mops her drenched forehead._

Sarada feels nauseous and vulnerable, more so over this than the distant knowledge that in the outside world she's sitting around in her underwear. The lack of sensation around her is suffocating and the constant shadow of Itachi makes her want to claw out of her own skin.

"Get—out—of—my—head!" Sarada screams, clutching her hands to her temples. She scrunches her eyes shut to make the images stop.

For a wonder, they do, and abruptly all is silence again.

"Sarada," Itachi murmurs, a disbelieving catch in his throat. Even if he suspected before, even if he knew, it appears he still didn't expect to be proven right. "You are Sasuke's child."

Shaking, Sarada lifts her head to glare at him.

When she meets his gaze—there's no danger now, she's already trapped in this genjutsu world—it is as if she is looking at a different person. For the first time since he stepped out of the darkness, his face is filled with emotion.

Sadness. Awe. Hope.

And she doesn't care.

"How dare you," she hisses. "Who the hell do you think you are, rifling though all my private moments like that?" She takes a step forward. "Is this what you do? Put people here, in this place, and make them relive their memories? Is this what you did to my father in Shukuba Town?"

"It was necessary," Itachi tells her, and though the words are bland, she hears the apology there. Each syllable rings with a heaviness, a breathless plea, and she can't help thinking she's not the intended recipient of this. "If circumstances were different, I would never dream of bringing you to this place. But it's the only way to communicate without being overheard."

"Overheard by who?" Sarada demands, not allowing herself to be swayed by his apology. "We're in the middle of nowhere, and you knocked my Ma—you knocked _Sakura_ unconscious!"

"She will be fine," Itachi dismisses, eyes closing for a moment as if in focus. "I didn't put her under my _Tsukuyomi_ , so she will break herself out of it soon enough." There might be a note of approval there, but he speaks so softly it's hard to tell. "It's prudent to always assume that someone is watching. While it is highly unlikely any of my associates are in this area, there are those who excel at eavesdropping. For your sake, as well as mine, I can't risk them noticing anything out of the ordinary."

"I'm pretty sure if they're your associates, they'll figure out you're doing something. Especially if you're just standing over the bodies of two girls in their underwear like a big creep!"

He either doesn't register the insult or doesn't care.

"In this world, I can slow the perception of time. It might be hours or days, but outside only seconds will pass. Anyone who might be watching us will simply see an effortless incapacitation of two injured genin."

"Then why go through the trouble?!"

"Because the situation is more serious than I imagined, and requires more time to solve than you have on the outside."

"No! Not that! Why go through the trouble of talking to me? You already know something is going on here, you could have just knocked M—Sakura and me out, and then kept going to figure things out! You didn't need to bring me here, or…or look at my memories!"

"A momentary lapse," Itachi dismisses, "one we shouldn't waste time dwelling on."

"Don't give me that crap— _shannaro!_ " Sarada yells. "I want a straight answer from you for once, and you haven't given me anything so far! They said you killed the Uchiha clan— _you_ even said so—but my father talks about you like you're some kind of hero! What the hell is up with that?"

He looks pained. "You cannot tell me this. I cannot know—"

"Why would he do that, huh? If you killed our entire clan?! There's got to be something else going on here, and I need to know what it is!"

Itachi's voice is tense. "If my brother did not see fit to tell you these things, I won't do him the disservice of doing so behind his back. It is a conversation meant to be had between a father and his child."

"But—"

"There are also things I cannot tell you because I do not have the answers. Your father is a very different man from the brother I left behind. And if he has chosen to…" Itachi stops talking then, and swallows, abruptly overcome. It takes a second to recover and replace the carefully neutral expression. "The more we discuss the past, the more tempting it becomes to change things. And they _cannot_ change."

"Why not?!" she cries. "Why can't this whole thing just be a sign that maybe some things need to be changed?"

"Because of who you are, Sarada." Itachi's eyes soften fractionally. "Because of what you represent."

Sarada's anger is abruptly overshadowed by confusion. "What?"

"You are the epitome of everything I have ever fought for. The reason I continue the path I have chosen. Everything I have done; it has been for the future of Konoha and my brother's well-being."

"But…but you killed our family…how could that…how could you ever _think_ it was for his well-being?" she chokes.

Itachi's expression remains composed, but she imagines a flicker of pain in his eyes.

"Fate is not always so kind as to provide an easy path," he tells her. "Seeing you, I know the price I paid is worth it. We will leave it at that. I will not risk interfering now, where I might change something that results in you not existing."

"How can you say that? You don't even know me. Yeah, okay, I'm your niece, but…that might as well just be a word to you. You've never even imagined I _might_ exist one day, how can you care so strongly about it one way or another?"

"That is a question your father will have to answer. We have more important matters to discuss."

"Screw that! You just said time is slower here, so you're going to make time!" Sarada orders him. "I have questions, and you're going to answer me, Uncle Itachi!"

The man who looks so much like her father practically jumps at being addressed like this. Terrifying eyes fix on Sarada as though he has never seen anything or anyone quite like her. Then he sighs, and something about his shoulders relaxes. His Sharingan fade. "You are so like him…"

Sarada experiences a flicker of warmth at the words. It's not the first time she's been compared to her father, but to hear it from _Itachi Uchiha_ sends a little thrill through her despite her fear.

Her uncle considers her a moment longer, and then reaches toward her. She flinches, until she sees he brandishes no weapons—real or not, illusionary weapons can cause horrible wounds to the psyche—and motions with a downturned palm that she ought to come closer.

Sarada squints at him several seconds longer, suspicious, and then cautiously inches forward. After all, if he wanted to hurt her, it isn't as if distance will stop him.

She is barely within arm's length, when she feels a sharp poke to the center of her forehead.

It feels like she's been hit by a bolt of lightning where his fingers touch. Immediately, all around her and Itachi, memory duplicates of Sarada appear—

 _Mama beams, eyes shining, and leans forward, tapping her fingers just below Sarada's hairline. "I'll tell you next time."_

 _"Don't make that face," Papa says, pulling away from Sarada. He is smiling at her, but his eyes are filled with regret. He doesn't want to leave again. He reaches for her forehead and lightly brushes his fingers there. "I'll see you next time."_

Except, it's not just images of Sarada.

In the distance, behind the images of herself, she sees two others dark shapes.

 _"Ouch!" a young Sasuke complains, as Itachi flicks his fingers against his forehead and says, "Forgive me, Sasuke…another time."_

 _Another small version of Sasuke glares up at his brother, wincing as Itachi murmurs, "Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe another time."_

Still farther, she sees another image, different than the others somehow.

 _A small boy—Itachi—holds a crying baby. "Don't cry, Sasuke. Your big brother's here to protect you. No matter what happens."_

 _The infant's cries taper off, and he stares up at Itachi's face. A tiny finger reaches out, poking at Itachi's forehead, making the older boy smile._

"That's…" Sarada whispers, reflexively pressing a hand to her own forehead as realisations dawn.

"It's only a matter of time before you are reunited with Sasuke," Itachi tells her, content to ignore the barrage of images around them. "The one from my timeline. It is imperative that I be nowhere nearby when that happens."

"Because he wants to kill you," Sarada says.

Itachi inclines his head but doesn't answer directly. Instead, he says, "It is simply too soon for us to meet again."

Sarada makes a face.

"I didn't think there was anyone in the world who could be as evasive as my father. I guess you're who he gets it from."

"And I suppose he's the one you get your stubbornness from."

"No, that's from my mother," Sarada counters with false bravado. "And if you think you're going to get away with not answering my questions just by making little comments about my parents or…or grandparents…then you're seriously underestimating me. Because I can't exactly care about people I was never given the chance to meet, can I?"

Itachi's mouth thins.

It's a low blow, but Sarada needs him to know that even with what he's shown her, she hasn't forgiven him.

Whatever he does in the future, whatever he does that her father chooses to leverage against his murder of their family, she hasn't learned of it yet. And she can't judge if it excuses him or not.

Itachi Uchiha might be a great man, he might care about her father and, inexplicably, her as well. He might inspire feelings of terror and curiosity and the fervent need to _know_ where she comes from.

But by his own words he is still a murderer, and it isn't her place to pardon him.

It's best she keeps her emotions in check, at least for now, and treats him simply as a skilled ninja with whom she has found herself working.

And then after they save the world, maybe she can try to reconcile the notorious killer with the man who said she has her grandmother's smile and taps her forehead the same way her parents do when they want to tell her without words how much she means to them.

"Very well," Itachi says, straightening up. "Since you don't want me seeing your memories, explain how you came to be here and what you know of the time distortion."

Sarada squares her shoulders and adopts the concise yet comprehensive tone she uses when undergoing mission debriefs with her team. Boruto is always screwing that up with his stupid comments, but she knows the value of sticking to the relevant facts.

Or, at least she did before today.

As she relays the day's events to Itachi, she is torn between wanting to show off her skill at conveying information to her uncle, and guilt because technically she is interacting with someone who, during his time period, is a notorious criminal.

A murderer.

Sometimes she can't help hesitate about what to say and what not to. Only when Itachi gives a small shake of his head—an indication to skip something or to move her explanation along—does she begin to figure out what kind of information he wants to avoid.

Mostly it's things to do with her father.

It bothers her—makes her a little angry, even—especially considering what she knows he's done. How the hell is he so easily able to divide his feelings for his own family from whatever mission he is on? On the one hand, she wishes she had that ability: to be clear-headed enough not to give in to her emotions or speak of things she shouldn't.

But at the same time, to know that ability comes at the cost of being allowed to feel? She doesn't ever want to have to put aside her love for her family for something or someone else. She imagines it would feel like being turned to stone.

Throughout her story about the teleporter and encountering her parents' future selves, Itachi is quiet.

When he finally speaks, it is with a thoughtful note which suggests he is working out the problem simultaneously in his head.

"I have limited understanding of space-time jutsu," he admits to Sarada. "But I know enough to make an educated guess about what may be happening. In the past, some members of the Uchiha clan were able to traverse dimensions."

"Like my father."

"Like the future version of my brother," Itachi agrees, his mouth doing that thing again where he looks like he might want to smile but doesn't. "Based on theory, and the few incidents I have seen myself, every dimensional portal, whether in time or in space, has to have an epicenter."

"Like ripples in a lake. There has to be something that disturbs the surface."

Itachi seems pleased by the comparison. "Exactly. Once the epicenter of the disturbance is located, it's easier to interrupt the cause of that disturbance. Removing it should return reality to its previous state."

" _Should_?"

"There are no certainties, of course."

Sarada doesn't like that possibility and chooses not to dwell on it. "What could even have caused this whole thing to begin with?"

"Time travel requires one of two things: either a lot of chakra, or a specific kekkei genkai ability. Neither option is highly likely at this juncture."

"Why not?"

"First of all, I can count on one hand the amount of locations where a person could find the amount of chakra needed to travel through time," Itachi says. "The closest place is the Kingdom of Rōran."

"That's in Wind Country."

"Yes. Beneath the heart of the main city, there is a lay line that could potentially grant access to a reportedly infinite chakra. However, it has been sealed for almost twenty years, and only blood heirs to the kingdom can open it."

"And even if one of them was forced to do that, it's still too far away," Sarada reasons. "The time-bubble would have started in Rōran, and not so close to Konoha."

"Yes."

"But couldn't someone with huge chakra reserves do it?"

"You mean a jinchūriki? Like your father's shorter, more foolish teammate."

"Hey! That's the Seventh Hokage and you'd better show him some respect!" Sarada snaps.

"Hm." This time Itachi's mouth _definitely_ quirks in amusement. "I see. My apologies."

She can't tell if he's being serious or sarcastic.

"To answer your question: if such a person could manage to call up that power, unless they have a genetic disposition to time travel, the effort would kill them. The human body can only withstand so much strain, even the body of a jinchūriki."

Something dark passes over his face now, as if he is remembering something he would rather forget.

"Then it's the other option," Sarada decides, knowing better than to comment on it. "Someone with a bloodline ability had to do this."

"That's also impossible."

"Huh?" Sarada wasn't expecting this. "Why?"

"Because any bloodline abilities like that are extinct."

"Like the First Hokage's _Mokuton_?" Sarada asks.

"That's no longer an extinct ability. When I was with ANBU, an individual known to me as Tenzō was able to use it."

"You mean Captain Yamato, right? I heard Kakashi call him that once. He helped rebuild our house that time Mom accidentally knocked it down."

There's a slight lift to Itachi's eyebrow, but he doesn't remark on that. Instead, he says, "Tenzō was one of Orochimaru's test subjects, as I recall. A different case than the man you said attacked you, I think. Orochimaru altered cells from the body of the First Hokage, whose body he had access to. He wouldn't have had access to anyone with a time-travel ability or even the dormant ability to develop a time-travel ability."

"How do you know?"

"Because anyone who could have unlocked such an ability is long-dead and their remains destroyed."

"Yeah, but _how_ do you know that?"

Itachi levels a meaningful stare at her, and a second later, the answer hits her.

"You mean…Uchiha."

"Yes."

Sarada shakes her head, struggling to comprehend this. "So there were Uchiha who could travel in time, too?"

"Is that so much more unbelievable than those who can cross spatial dimensions?" her uncle challenges her.

"Well…no. But my father never mentioned anything like that."

"He would not know," Itachi asserts. "It is information passed on only to members of the Uchiha clan who awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"But Papa has that."

"He did not have it before the destruction of the clan," Itachi says shortly. "And I suspect I am not alive in the future to relay the information personally." Noting Sarada's surprise, he continues, "The only way you can exist is if I am dead in the future. Sasuke would not be so quick to restore the clan if he thought it were in danger."

It is left unsaid that her father considered Itachi just such a danger.

Sarada can't understand the older Uchiha's utter acceptance of this fact. She doesn't think she would ever understand this man, even if she had been given the chance to grow up with him around.

"So…so this time-travel ability," she ventures, "how exactly did it work? And why was it so secret?"

"There is an evolved Sharingan technique known as Izanagi," Itachi tells her. She has never heard of this before, and so he elaborates, "It is an old ability which permits one to change illusion to reality. When wielded to maximum effect, a Sharingan using Izanagi can go back several moments in time and change the outcome of an unfavorable situation."

Sarada's eyes widen. "No way!"

"It is only possible to manipulate that time for seconds, but the technique itself can be reused over and over in different subsequent timelines. In the past, the Uchiha used it to such excess that a countermeasure was developed—Izanami."

"Then we can use that to stop the time-bubble!" Sarada exclaims in relief.

"I never said that what is causing the temporal phenomenon is Izanagi," Itachi warns her with a shake of the head, which makes her shoulders sag. "But I do believe it is the next progression of it. And if it is…it means Izanami would be powerless against it."

His tone tells her what a monumentally bad thing _that_ would be.

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	19. Chapter Sixteen

"You _think_ it's the next progression? Or you _know_?"

"I would say the probability is high. In the clan legends, it is called Ōmiyanome. It gifts its wielder with the ability to slip through the cracks in time. By minutes or hours, if enough chakra is expended. It differs from Izanagi in that instead of simply creating a powerful illusion, a person might punch a hole through time itself."

"Which is dangerous," Sarada concludes. "And that's why no one in the clan could know about it?"

"Exactly. If such an ability were common knowledge, certain members of the clan would have gone to great lengths to ensure everyone could use that ability. More than that, outsiders might attempt to capitalize on it," he says. "To ensure that didn't happen, the secret was guarded. Should someone from the clan awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan _and_ inherit the ability to shape time, they were dealt with swiftly and quietly."

"You mean…"

"Execution," Itachi confirms neutrally. "If they were so unfortunate as to have children as well, they too were eradicated."

"That's horrible!" Sarada gasps at his clinical attitude toward the whole subject.

She has always known that as a member of a prestigious clan, there are certain traditions and practices from the past which are now considered inhumane. She's seen if with the Hyūga, where some of the older generation still possess brands upon their foreheads from the time when they were practically enslaved by the main family.

She just never considered what her own family's brutal history might entail.

"It _was_ horrible," Itachi agrees softly, "but necessary. Human beings are too controlled by their emotions, and would no doubt be tempted to change reality to suit their own purposes. The Uchiha were particularly prone to favouring emotion over pragmatism. When one incident nearly resulted in the entire clan being destroyed, the council deemed these executions necessary. And they were meticulously enforced."

Sarada swallows her next remark—that the Uchiha council's ruling would ultimately be useless thanks to the man in front of her—and forces herself to keep her mind on the mission.

"So if you can't use Ōmiyanome, and neither can my father, and all the other Uchiha who _could_ use it are dead…" she muses, trailing off. Following her own logic, a horrible thought occurs from her. "Hold on—could it be me?" She doesn't give him a chance to respond before rambling on. "Maybe in the future, I unlock the Mangekyō, and it's me that gets the ability. And then I change something in time, and it causes this whole mess, and I'm so busy trying to fix it that—"

Itachi's headshake is as effective in stopping her progressively agitated tone as if he had verbally cut her off.

"There is a less than one percent chance of you acquiring a recessive gene like that," he assures her. "And even if you did, the chances of you ever developing the Mangekyō Sharingan to begin with are slim."

"I don't follow…"

"I know my brother. And from what I have seen of your mother, both outside of this genjutsu and through you, I imagine you parents will move heaven and earth to spare you the opportunity."

"But it's still not impossible."

"Even if you had it, you don't strike me as the type of person that would selfishly put the entire world at risk just to go back and change your personal circumstances."

Sarada isn't so sure about that. There are quite a few aspects of her life that she would change if she could. Quite a few realities she wouldn't mind altering, not just for her own sake but for that of the people she loves.

Itachi notices her uncertainty.

"Answer me this: would you risk everything you know and love, everything you have now, just to go back and change it all?"

"To save someone, maybe," she answers honestly.

"Even if it meant that the person—or perhaps, several persons—that you care for might cease to exist due to your own actions?" Sarada opens her mouth to reply but finds that she is even less certain now. Itachi nods as if he expected this. "Exactly. That is the risk you take when you change time. And only someone who has never experienced caring for another would make that decision."

Which is a pretty good point, actually.

If something happened to her parents or friends, Sarada would of course jump at the chance to go back and save them. However, if something in her travels caused her to lose them anyhow?

"Alright. I guess it makes sense," she concedes slowly. "But that brings us back to my question from before: who's doing it? If it's not any of the us, and any Uchiha with the ability was already killed off…"

"Anyone that was recorded by the clan, at any rate."

"Right, anyone that was… wait. What's that supposed to mean?"

"There's only one person whose fate was never accounted for," he says grimly, "but it's impossible, because that person can't have survived."

"Survived when you…?"

She doesn't want to say the words again.

"No." Itachi's eyes flash. "I mean, they can't be alive any longer because it has been centuries since she is said to have existed."

"I don't understand."

"The origin of Ōmiyanome was an Uchiha clanswoman. Teisōko Uchiha." The name is unfamiliar, but by now, Sarada expects that. "She was a prodigy, according to the stories that were passed down. Powerful, strong and the pride of her people."

"And she's the one who figured out how to travel in time?"

"Yes. When it was discovered she could move through time, the Uchiha believed they had birthed their saviour. She would be the matriarch of a new generation, a woman who would bear warriors that would make the Uchiha the most powerful clan in the world."

"So what happened? If she were that important, wouldn't she have been mentioned in the history books?"

"Not necessarily."

Which isn't surprising, given what Itachi has said and how closed-lipped her father is about their ancestors. Sarada is familiar enough with the wars between the Senju and the Uchiha from her days in the Academy, but not in any amount of depth.

"The popular story is that she fell ill," Itachi tells her. "She survived but was rendered barren. Without being able to have children who could inherit her particular skills, her value in the clan went down."

"But that's not fair! It's not like she got sick on purpose! And obviously there were still other people who had the same ability without her having children! I mean, you said before that they kept being born into the clan!"

"Yes. There were those who shared her ability to slip through time, but she was the only one to master it completely. Instead of minutes or hours, she could travel back days. Weeks. Some say months. It was her mastery that the clan wanted to breed into their descendants, and without that, she became obsolete."

"Hold on," Sarada makes a face. "They _wanted_ people who could change time? I thought you said before that the ability was too dangerous."

"Circumstances change. During the height of the wars between the Uchiha and the Senju, such a quality was desired. In times of peace, however feeble, anyone who might use Ōmiyanome was a threat."

"Right…" Sarada considers all of this. "Is that why they killed her? Because she could potentially change the past?"

"Not exactly. She fled the clan and no one ever heard from her again."

"Why?"

"One of her relatives had at that point discovered the secret to unlocking the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and sought to take her eyes."

"Unlocking the what?"

Itachi tilts his head to one side, frowning. "Your father hasn't explained."

"He explained what the Mangekyō Sharingan was, not the thing you just said," Sarada defends, "He told me all about it after I awakened the Sharingan. I wanted to know why ours looked different. He said his was more advanced, but that it came at a great price. And then earlier, he—well, the younger version of him—said that to get it he would have to…he had to kill the person he…wait…"

With every syllable, she finds herself arriving at a very disturbing possibility. One which grows even more likely as she watches her uncle's expression. He does not look surprised or even resigned, but rather like her words are exactly what he expected.

"No," she whispers.

"He has to kill me," Itachi confirms calmly, maddingly unruffled by this news. "I suppose it's a small comfort."

"How is _that_ a comfort?" Sarada chokes.

"I slaughtered my own family," Itachi reminds her tonelessly. "Death is the least of the penalties I deserve. For it to come by Sasuke's hand is fitting."

"It sounds like you're using him to commit suicide," Sarada tells him, feeling sick. When Itachi says nothing, her eyes widen. "That's it, isn't it? You knew what you were doing was horrible and that you had to be punished for it. But the only one who would ever be able to do that was my father." She clenches her fist. "But if you knew it was wrong, why did you do it in the first place?!"

His jaws firm and he shakes his head once, a clear refusal to answer.

Sarada wants to scream in frustration.

Itachi Uchiha is a walking contradiction, utterly reserved in one instant, but with eyes that betray someone whose soul may once have been pure. He clearly feels regret and even pain over the deeds of his past, but at the same time he refuses to apologize for them or even elaborate. Even her father, reticent as he is, is capable of expressing remorse for his past deeds.

 _Deeds that can't have been as horrible as massacring their entire family._

Sarada clenches her fists, takes a deep breath and fights back the never-ending sea of irrelevant questions that threaten to explode out of her. Instead, she focusses on things he is required to answer.

"What's the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan?" she asks. "And don't say I have to wait for my father to tell me, it's completely relevant to what we're doing here."

He nods his head once, grim.

"You've heard of the Mangekyō Sharingan and you know the immediate price, yes?"

"Yes. You have to kill the person you love most."

"That, or witness the death of the person you love most," Itachi confirms, his eyes momentarily going out of focus as if he is thinking of something long past. "But in the long-term, there's another price: the more you use it, the quicker you will lose your sight."

Sarada's eyes widen and she reconsidered Itachi in shock, studying his features. Suddenly the odd squinting she noticed earlier made sense.

"You mean…you…?"

"If I am lucky, I'll retain my vision for another year. Possibly two," he dismisses.

"Does Papa—does your Sasuke know?"

"No. Not in this time, at least. I gather he knows about it in the future, however."

"How do you know?"

"Is your father blind?"

"What? No."

"Then he has attainted the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, which can only be done by taking the eyes of another, blood-related Mangekyō Sharingan user and transplanting them."

"And the only other Mangekyō Sharingan user in the world is…no."

Sarada stares at her uncle in horror. Thoughts flit through her brain in rapid succession—her observations earlier that her father's eyes seemed strange. She believed it was because the younger version doesn't possess the Rinnegan, but now that she thinks about it, the real difference were the eyes themselves.

A memory hits her of meeting her father for the first time in ten years. On their way back to Konoha, she kept sneaking glances, committing everything about him to memory, and she remembers thinking that their eyes were different and not just because she wears glasses. With her newly awakened Sharingan, she noticed the colour wasn't completely identical. At the time she shrugged it off as something that changed with age.

The young Sasuke Uchiha's eyes are cold and hard and an unyielding black, but her father's— there's something different about the coloring, a shade lighter, something warm that she can't identify.

But which she is staring at right now as Itachi watches her putting together the pieces.

"He has your eyes," she breathes.

"So it would seem."

"Does he know that has to happen?"

"I don't think so. If he does, he did not mention it the last time we met."

"And you didn't bring it up?"

"We were…otherwise engaged."

Sarada decides that's a conversation she doesn't want to have with him. In fact, the information is veering into territory that makes her stomach quiver.

 _I wanted to know_ , she chides herself, deciding that perhaps her parents were right not to answer her questions when she was younger.

"So…so this Teisōko person," she murmurs faintly, changing the subject, "she had a Mangekyō Sharingan. And someone wanted to steal it to make themselves stronger?"

"The practice was very common in the past centuries."

"No wonder she ran away," Sarada mutters. Privately, she thinks that if the Uchiha clan were like this, it's for the best that they were destroyed. Within seconds of this idea, however, she feels guilty and embarrassed for thinking it.

Once again, Itachi seems to guess her frame of mind.

"Not every Uchiha was so narrowminded or sought power above all things. Some fought and died to protect their loved ones and the village above all else. My friend Shisui was one."

"But you killed him anyway."

"No." Itachi's answer is sharp, and almost angry. "I would no more be able to kill Shisui than I would ever be able to kill Sasuke. Would you be able to kill your own brother?"

"I don't have a brother."

Itachi offers a barely-there shrug of acknowledgement. "That might change, one day. Restoring a clan takes more than one talented daughter."

Warmth rushes to Sarada's cheeks and she crosses her arms.

"Don't think complimenting me is going to make me forgive you," she warns, although there's less iron in her tone than before. "And those are my parents you're talking about right now— _gross_."

"I suppose I have been indelicate."

"Right," Sarada agrees with a firm nod of the head, inwardly chiding herself as well. "So everyone who _might_ have the ability was killed, and the only person to ever have any small chance of travelling through time disappeared?"

"Yes."

"Ugh." She rubs her temples to try to ease the oncoming headache. The motion is more out of habit than any true relief, as within this genjutsu world of her uncle's, she can't feel anything. "And there's absolutely no way the stories were wrong? Like, maybe she could still have children and went off somewhere to have a secret family?"

It's a common plot to those horrible television shows ChōChō makes her watch.

"If the records are correct, her womb was removed."

Sarada makes a face. "Where is all this _written_?"

"That is something else—"

"—my father will have to tell me," Sarada grumbles. "You have a real problem answering questions directly, don't you? I bet if I asked you what your favourite food was, you'd tell me to go ask my father."

"Actually, it's dango."

Sarada opens her mouth to retort, then closes it, and squints at him. "Okay, I didn't expect that."

"In any case, given the fact that Teisōko was so important to the Uchiha, locating her body was paramount. It was one of the clan duties for several generations after the initial disappearance."

"But you said yourself, she could travel in time," Sarada points out. "What if—just to get away from whoever was trying to steal her eyes—she stepped through time? Only, instead of ending up a month or so in the past or future, she ended up here." Sarada clasps her hands in front of her, fingertips to her chin in what her mother calls her "thinking pose". "It's probably stressful if your own family is trying to kill you. You might make a lot of miscalculations with your abilities and using your chakra. I've had friends who over-exerted themselves, and they accidentally tapped into strong abilities, but the burn-out right after was bad. The first time Boruto tried to use shadow clones, he knocked himself out for three days."

"It would be a long trip," Itachi agrees, picking up her train of thought. "It could have weakened her, to the point where even a genin of negligible talent might subdue her. And if the individual in question who stumbled upon her was Orochimaru—"

"—who is definitely involved somehow, if only because his insane experiments are causing trouble for everyone—"

"—it would simply be a matter of incapacitating her and running his experiments," Itachi concludes, and despite the softness of his voice, there is a dangerous note running through it. Sarada can detect something like anger for the first time. "That individual is a reoccurring nuisance. I should have killed him long ago."

"You can't do that," Sarada tells him. "He's…well, he's sort of my father's sensei, so…killing him would probably cause some kind of paradox."

Itachi doesn't look entirely pleased with this information, but he doesn't pursue the matter.

"Do you think she's trying to get back?"

"Hm?"

"Teisōko. Do you think the reason that there's this time-travel bubble is because she's somehow trying to get enough power to return to whatever time she came from? I mean, if that is what's going on here, because right now it just sounds like a really complicated, unbelievable guess."

"There is no other theory that would be even half as plausible," Itachi replies. "And as for her motives… that would be anyone's guess. The legends never really indicated the woman's exact frame of mind."

"If she has any left. I've met enough of Orochimaru's experiments to know they don't exactly represent the ideal picture of sanity," Sarada says, shuddering at the memories of Shin Uchiha, Mumyōi and the unnamed ghost that threw her off a cliff. "Could he have played with her brain or something so he could gain control of her time-travel abilities? Or stolen her eyes, or cloned her?"

"Perhaps. It doesn't account for the amount of chakra it would take to create the circumference of this time distortion. Unless he's managed to augment it somehow."

"The guy managed to replicate Lord Fourth's _Hiraishin_ and lock an army of crazy curse seal monsters underground. I wouldn't put it past him," Sarada deadpans. "So what's the plan?"

"The plan?"

"The fix all this."

"To stop the phenomenon, whatever is technology or device Orochimaru is responsible for needs to be stopped from augmenting the distortion. Once that's done, the origin of the distortion, if it is Teisōko, must be destroyed."

"So that's what you're going to do?"

"No."

Sarada's mind practically grinds to a halt at this unexpected response.

"Wh- _what_? What do you mean, _no_?!"

"I already told you, Sarada. I cannot be here longer than necessary. And given what you mentioned about your father and his team, they will likely continue to investigate this. I cannot put myself into a situation where Sasuke and I meet again. He will try to kill me, and I'll be forced to incapacitate him again. That's the last thing needed at this juncture if there's a chance of putting the world back to rights."

"Are you _kidding_ me?! What we're dealing with could be stronger than all of us, and you're supposed to be a genius! My parents both say so and we need your help! Are you saying you can't figure out a way to put aside you're… _whatever…_ between you and Sasuke long enough to save the damn world?!"

"I cannot interfere. Not more than I already have. In fact, it's best that I leave as soon as I release you."

"But…but you came here _specifically_ to figure out what's going on!"

"And now that I've found out, I have to leave. I'm not meant to interfere in this."

" _Why not?"_

His mouth tightens in annoyance. Likely he isn't used to having his decisions questioned very often. _Now_ he definitely looks like her father. "Because of the complication."

"Then _un_ complicate it!

"The longer I am in contact with you and what you represent, the harder it will be for me to make myself forget!" Itachi snaps, and suddenly the calm, composed demeanour is gone.

Her uncle stares down at her wildly, his entire frame radiating frustration and agitation. It's a shocking change, not least of all because Sarada suspects he is not one to raise his voice even when he is furious.

"If I were to go with you, and we somehow managed to find your father and his team, and if somehow my brother managed to put aside his hatred for me long enough to work together to stop this and knowing what I know now—" He cuts himself off, swallows convulsively, and visibly comports himself. "You are a symbol. The final, utterly underserved, recompense for the deeds I carried out. You are the future of the village, the proof that Sasuke will one day, at long last, be happy. Even more than that, more than I would ever expect, you are the proof that I will one day be forgiven. And every second that I am here with you, that truth become more real to me, closer to my heart and more tempting to hold on to. And that could put _everything_ at risk."

"But what if you're supposed to know?" Sarada counters. "What if the you my father talks about already knew all this the first time and did everything he's going to do despite it all?"

"Then he would be a better man than I know I am," Itachi answers softly, and the naked pain in his eyes tells Sarada that what he said is no exaggeration.

He has been more affected by their meeting than he has said, even with this last outburst. And as much as she doesn't want to forgive him for his past sins, it's hard to be completely heartless in the face of his admission of weakness.

She suspects it's more than her father ever got.

This is something else she can't push, and although it frustrates her to do so, she nods in acceptance.

"Isn't there another way for you to help, without getting involved?" she asks instead. "M— Sakura and I are in trouble right now. And even if we find our way back to the others, Uncle Kakashi doesn't even know what's going on or what to do."

"I've already told you what must be done. When I release you from this place, find a way to contact your father. If he can travel dimensions, he will either be informed of what's going on or he will sense the dimensional shift."

"And you?"

"I will be unconscious when you wake up."

"Huh?"

In answer, Itachi raises an arm, as if reaching for something. The red sky suddenly spins, black shapes blossoming against it and whirling closer. Sarada squeaks and ducks as several black shapes head straight for them, converging on Itachi. When she looks up again, there is a large crow sitting on his shoulder.

She startles when it trains an eye on her—an eye that swirls red and black with a Mangekyō Sharingan.

"What…?" she takes a step back.

"This is only an image," he tells her, "a representation of one with whom I have a contract. The Sharingan implanted in this crow can forcibly erase memories and implant false experiences. _Kotoamatsukami_ . When used to its fullest ability, it might make a person believe they are doing things of their own free will. Luckily, for my purposes, there's no need to activate it fully, and its power won't be completely diminished. I simply need to forget having stumbled upon you and the girl and get far away from the temporal phenomenon."

"But won't you realise something happened when you wake up?"

"I experience black-outs occasionally. It's one of the reasons I take frequent absences from my partner, so as not to be a burden—or to be vulnerable beside one who might become an enemy at any point," Itachi tells her.

Sarada bites her lip. "You're sick, aren't you? It's not just the blindness, but something else."

Her uncle purses his lips and waves the crow away.

"My real summon awaits its opportunity in the real world. As soon as you and the girl wake up, it will knock me out and erase the memory. Get as far away from me as possible, hide your tracks. Travel through the water to ensure it."

Sarada sighs.

 _Guess I shouldn't have expected a straight answer…_

"Get to the epicenter of the phenomenon," Itachi continues. "That's where whatever is causing all of this will be. Whether Teisōko is still alive and functioning, or just being used, she will be dangerous."

"She has to be destroyed, right?" Sarada asks, not really liking the idea of having to kill someone. She doesn't have blood on her hands, and the idea that her first kill with be an _Uchiha_ is unsettling.

Again, Itachi proves that despite not being a mind-reader, he can sense her thoughts.

"Not by you. Your father—or Kakashi, if Sasuke doesn't make it in time. They're the only ones with a chance of doing it. And make sure, if you can't do anything else, to destroy the eyes. You know _Katon_?"

"Of course!"

"Use it to get rid of her body. It's the only appropriate method for an Uchiha." He reactivates his Sharingan, the wheels spinning into blades that signify he is about to release her from his Tsukuyomi.

"Wait!"

Itachi pauses, and Sarada feels panicked.

In hits her that this is the last time she will ever be able to speak to her deceased uncle. There are so many questions she still has, things only he would know. There's too little time to ask him any of those, and she knows it, but she must try. After all, she doesn't want her only memory of him to be unpleasant, filled with harsh truths about their family and his own deeds.

If her father can find something about this man that is pleasant, something to remember him in a good light, she wants that as well.

"Can you…can you tell me about Papa?" she requests tentatively. "Just something. Anything you remember. About when he was little, I mean. Not the way he is now, at my age. He's unpleasant…and unlikeable. But he wasn't always like that, right? You knew him before he was that way."

Itachi considers her a long moment, and this time he does smile.

"He used to be very clumsy," he tells her quietly. "Always in a hurry. Always tripping over his feet. I had to carry him everywhere. I'm rather certain he faked half of those instances simply to get me to look after him."

Tears blur Sarada's eyes, and she feels a lump in her throat.

"He's very similar to our father. He has trouble expressing his feelings—not like our mother. Not like that girl. I suppose I should call her my sister-in-law? Spirited." He chuckles. "She's a good match for him. A good balance. Even if I had never…" His smile fades, and the sadness returns. The look he gives Sarada now is apologetic. "The Sasuke of my time has to be as you described for now. It's the only way the future will happen as it needs to. He may never explain to you why. I hope he doesn't—but if he does, I can only hope you can take the time to understand. And if you feel the need to judge me harshly even then, it's no more than I deserve."

The lump in her throat becomes bigger, and tears run down her cheeks now.

Sniffing, Sarada considers for a moment, and then makes up her mind. Warily, she takes several steps forward until she's inches away from the man.

"You hurt my father," she tells him bluntly. "A lot."

"I know."

"But I wish he could have been the one to see you today," she tells him. "Because he would have known what to say or what to do."

Itachi nods. "I would have liked to know the man he will become one day. And to know you better as well."

She bites her lip, trying to keep composed.

Then she throws her arms around his middle and buries her face in the cloak he wears.

The body in her arms goes completely rigid for several long seconds that might as well be days, and then ever so slowly, she feels thin but strong arms wrap around her from behind.

"This doesn't mean I've forgiven you," she tells him, although the words are muffled in thick fabric of his cloak.

"Nor would I expect you to," he tells her, tone gentle.

"As long as that's clear," she croaks.

Itachi shifts then, and she loosens her grip on him.

He slowly kneels down until he is eye-level with her, and she startles when she feels the hand on the back of her head, pulling her forward until their foreheads rest together. This close, she can see the lines in his face: worry lines that a young man shouldn't have, the sign of someone forced to grow up too quickly.

"You don't have to forgive me," he tells her. "No matter what you decide to do from now on, I am your uncle. I will always love you and be proud of you." Pulling back, his Mangekyō Sharingan swirls and he gives her a last tap on her forehead. "Protect your father for me."

"Always," she promises, as the world swirls and dips.

The red and black of the Tsukuyomi world leech away, returning her to the real world.

Sarada can't help think if it weren't for everything, she would have gotten along very well with her uncle.

It is forever and a moment before Sakura succeeds in dispelling the genjutsu. Even then, as she blinks up at the stars that slide into focus, she feels a depressing certainty that she was only able to because the illusion itself became weaker.

Now that she is free, Sakura battles with confusion. She feels drained, on edge, and her head throbs as if it is too full somehow. Her heart is practically galloping, as if she's been running a race; in a way, she has been.

Trapped in the lie of an overwhelming forest, she recalls desperately trying to catch up with her teammates. Sasuke and Naruto were far ahead of her, as usual; he could only see their backs as they got farther and farther away. No matter how much she ran, she could never join them.

It's her own deepest fear, and barely surmountable on a really bad day.

But today hasn't exactly been normal.

 _"My mother is a talented warrior…she did that all on her own…so if you want to get stronger, do it for yourself…"_

Sakura is fairly certain if she hadn't met Sarada—if she hadn't heard the words her future child said about her—she may not have been able to keep her awareness that it was genjutsu. Not that knowing made it easier to escape. Itachi Uchiha is a genjutsu genius, after all, and creating a multilayered illusion is not impossible with such simple subject matter. But remembering Sarada's words, it made it all that more important to escape to ensure the other girl is alright.

She doesn't know what she expects to see upon pulling herself into a sitting position, but it's not this:

Sarada and Itachi face each other across several feet, both of their Sharingan activated. Neither moves a muscle, and it's as if they are trapped in a battle of wills. Before Sakura can stand—all she needs to do to get Sarada out of whatever illusion she is trapped in is to make her feel pain—both Uchiha startle.

They blink, rapidly, as if waking up, and as awareness returns to him, Itachi's eyes flit toward Sakura. She imagines an imperceptible nod, which makes no sense, and then his attention is drawn to something beyond her.

His entire body suddenly goes rigid, and then against all logic, those terrible eyes of his roll back and he collapses heavily to the ground.

"What's going on?" Sakura gasps, eyes practically bulging from her skull at the sight of an S-ranked criminal lying supine within spitting distance. "What just happened?"

Sarada's shaky gasp is the only answer she receives, and Sakura looks over to see tears are trickling down the other girl's cheeks.

The mystery of Itachi Uchiha's inexplicable unconsciousness takes a back burner.

"Are you okay?" she demands, staggering to her feet. "What did he do to you? Did he…did he put you in that world if his? Like he did with Sasuke?"

Sarada shakes her head, slowly, almost as if she doesn't quite hear Sakura and takes a tentative step forward. Her hand reaches out, as if to confirm that he is asleep.

"He's my father's brother," she murmurs quietly. "He's my…"

The torn, confused expression on Sarada's face makes Sakura's stomach flip, an uncomfortable sensation settling there. It's almost as if she's intruding on something deeply personal, which makes no sense considering he's a known murderer.

Sakura blinks at this, abruptly coming back to herself.

 _Right. Murderer. Who is now unconscious._

Rather than let Sarada possibly wake up said murderer, Sakura scrambles into action.

"We have to go," she orders, snatching their drying clothes with one hand and grabbing Sarada's good arm with the other.

They need to get far, far away.

"The river…" she hears Sarada murmur, dazed, as if she's repeating what someone else said, "We have to go through the river…our tracks…!"

Sakura doesn't question this, heading for the water; she can't help throwing a cautious look over her shoulder, though, to ensure Itachi Uchiha is not about to come after them. He remains, motionless, on the ground, as a black bird circles over him. As she turns away, she wonders if she imagined the creature's burning red eye.

Holding their damp clothes above their heads, the girls wade through the shallows of the river, following it back to its origin. They can't follow it underground where they came from but climbing the hills in the general direction is good enough until they reach the tree-line again. Once there, the girls leap into the trees and disappear into the foliage.

 _Hopefully no one will think to follow us now_.

Sakura glances at the other girl every few seconds, wanting to ensure she's alright. Mentally she seems a bit confused, but physically she's keeping up. In fact, she seems more energetic than before. Sakura barely has to keep a hold of her or steer her through the trees.

For about half an hour they flit through the forest. Every so often Sakura leads a false trail, terrified that she's going to look up at any moment and see those red eyes again. Eventually, though, they are forced to stop. Cold and out of breath, they find a patch of overgrown bushes and Sakura pulls them down to crouch beneath them. They're as safe as can be, considering somewhere in the vicinity and unconscious S-class criminal may or may not decide to come after them.

"Are you okay?" Sakura asks, once her heavy breathing doesn't interrupt her words.

Sarada nods.

"Good." Sakura swallows and then fixes the other girl with a fierce look. "Whatever you do, don't tell Sasuke."

Sarada's eyes widen.

"Why?" she asks, sounding surprised and a little wary. Sakura can understand this. The last thing she wants to do is lie to Sasuke and keeping things from him is a lie of omission. "He'd want to know, wouldn't he?"

"It doesn't matter. He can't."

"He's going to forget all this anyway. Assuming we all survive, of course."

"You can't tell him," Sakura insists firmly. "He'll drop everything and try to find his brother and if he does…I…I can't lose him."

She swallows painfully, fighting back the urge to cry. The heavy pressure in her head won't go away.

Sarada sighs in defeat. "That's what he said, too."

"Who?"

"Itachi."

Sakura tenses. "He spoke to you?"

"Yes. In my head."

"Don't trust a word he says. I don't know what you know about him—"

"More than I did, still not a lot."

"—but he can't be trusted. He says and does things to hurt people, even if they are family. I'm surprised he didn't kill you!"

"It's…a little more complicated than that," Sarada says, wincing. When Sakura crosses her arms in front of her, expectant, the other girl sighs. "He pulled me into his genjutsu world, but it wasn't to hurt me. He was curious. And he wanted to talk." She lowers her voice, looking around nervously, and barely above a whisper she says to Sakura, "He said there are people watching. It had to look like he was just checking us for information before moving on."

"But he was unconscious," Sakura points out.

"He did that to himself."

Sakura shakes her head, not buying it. Sarada opens her mouth to protest, but Sakura silences her by holding up a hand and orders, "Stop. Explain all this from the beginning.

What follows is a concise, albeit very confusing, account of Sarada's conversation with her infamous uncle. It's obviously not everything—Sakura suspects it's because Sarada herself doesn't understand everything that just transpired—but from the vague details, Sakura can't help feeling some of her distrust and apprehension ebb away.

"…and he kept telling me to get my father to explain it to me," Sarada finishes. "But other than that, it was him that figured it out. The next step. And if we don't do something about it, things are going to get really bad."

"Alright…say this is completely true and he didn't lie to you," Sakura says slowly, "What are we supposed to do about it?"

"Obviously, we have to find out way to the epicenter of the time phenomenon and stop it."

"I got that part. _How_?"

"It will be in the direct center of everything. We just have to figure out where that is, which shouldn't be too hard with the stars and a map."

"What map? We don't have one."

"No, but we had our GPS devices."

"Your what devices?"

"Oh. Right. Future technology. Okay, it's basically like a map on a computer. I memorized it when I saw it. Perks of a Sharingan," Sarada says, reaching for a broken twig and clearing a spot in the dirt. "If I recreate it here and we use the stars to position ourselves, we can probable figure out where the origin is. We head there and stop whatever's causing the temporal distortion."

"What about finding the others first? We can't do this alone."

"I know, but we don't have time to try to find them now. Especially if they're still underground somewhere. And we definitely don't have time to retrace our steps. If we're lucky, we'll meet up with them anyway. In the worst-case scenario, we find them after we stop this thing."

"No, the worst-case scenario is we all die."

Sarada makes a face. "You're usually more optimistic."

"I usually have super strength, according to you," Sakura replies. "I'm not her. I'm not your mother yet. I don't have super powers or…or anything like that. I've never done anything like this without Kakashi-sensei there, or at least Naruto and Sasuke. I'm just a genin."

"So am I."

"But you're a genius. And even then, you're also pretty weak right now."

"I can walk, which is a start," Sarada contends stubbornly. "And I'm going to do this, with or without your help. If you really want to go find the others, fine, but I have to stop what's going on."

"You're crazy if you think I'm letting you go anywhere on your own!" Sakura snaps. "Aside from the fact I'd be a horrible mother if I let you do that, Sasuke would kill me!"

Sarada smirks. "So we're agreed, then?"

 _If that's what he looks like when he gets his way, it's a good thing he never smiles_ , Sakura decides inwardly, although outwardly the grumbled her assent.

There's not much else to do right now but trust Sarada's judgement.

And try not to remember she's only met the girl today. And that Sarada only met Itachi for several minutes, but apparently it was enough time to have an entire mind conversation with her.

Sakura swallows heavily.

 _We're all going to die._

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	20. Chapter Seventeen

"So, you're saying…you… I mean, I-I'm your… Me and him are—" Naruto can't quite find a way to complete that thought.

Boruto cuts him off. "Geez! It's not that complicated, you know!"

"What are you talking about?! It's totally complicated!" He glances plaintively at Sasuke as if it's his responsibility to clear all this up.

Sasuke offers a weak shrug. Just because he also found out today that, in the future, he'll be a father doesn't make him an immediate expert on how to deal with it. Witnessing Naruto go through the same experience, though, has an unexpectedly cathartic effect. By watching his teammate's family drama unfold, he doesn't have to dwell too closely on the unanswered questions of his own.

Naruto goes back to staring down his future child, like he can't even fathom the inarguable conclusion he's come to.

Boruto, on the other hand, watches him with something akin to defiance. It's as if he's trying hard not to be fazed by his father's obvious disbelief and incredulity, but in secret is chafing at the lack of recognition. Despite the very odd circumstances they've found themselves in, he still craves approval.

It's an expression Sasuke can recognise with ease. He knows it intimately as he's worn that same look, albeit not for many years now. No matter how mediocre, sons will always care what their fathers think. Sasuke's heart twinges as he wonders what his father would have to say about him now, had he lived.

Boruto provides a distraction from that train of thought.

" _He's_ not freaking out about it," Boruto complains, pointing at Sasuke. He beams at him, tilting his head from side to side as if appraising him from every angle. "You still look wicked cool. The eyes'll take getting used to, though. Hey, Uncle Sasuke! You think I could beat you right now? I mean, we're the same age, and all."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke growls. He's not sure if he's more put off by the baffling moniker, or the insinuation that anyone with Naruto's blood might come close to his skill level.

"What?! You couldn't tell? I figured you'd just kind of know…with your intuition and all," Boruto looks puzzled, before shrugging and offering a toothy smile. "I'm your number one student! You've been training me! And I'm gonna follow the same shinobi path as you!"

Sasuke blinks. "The… What now?"

"Why the hell do you want to be like _him_ for, if you're _my_ kid?" Naruto explodes. "Wanting to be Hokage isn't a good enough ninja path to follow? You wanna be an antisocial jerk with weird hair?"

"His hair gets less weird. And I don't give a crap about being Hokage!" Boruto shoots back. "That's Sarada's dream, not mine!"

Again, Sasuke is nonplussed. As far as he knows, there has never been an Uchiha who became Hokage. Though, based on the talents he's seen her display, she's well on her way to achieving that lofty goal. If she's alive, that is.

Naruto barely even registers this news, still too stuck on the fact that this random stranger wants to be like _Sasuke_ of all people.

"I drop you on the head when you're a baby, don't I?" Naruto suggests.

Boruto goes red and snaps, "You said it was only the one time and Mom said I was fine!"

"Obviously not, or you wouldn't want to be like _him_. Believe it! And you never answered before—who is your mom?"

"You really can't tell?" Sasuke snorts. Just by looking at the kid's face shape, he'd figured it out. That, and there's only one girl in the entire village with enough patience to marry the moron, let alone bear his children.

Naruto leans over and squints, making a big show of trying to pick out the details in Boruto's face. "Well…you definitely look like me, but your eyes are different. And I'd never be caught dead wearing pink. Except for that one time when the laundry came out all weird."

"Yeah, right! Because orange is _so_ much better!"

"It's memorable!"

"You look lamer than I do!"

Sasuke snorts. Naruto grows angrier.

"And what kind of stupid name is _Boruto_ , anyway? Bolt of what?"

"It's an improvement on being named after fish cake!"

"Both of your names are ridiculous."

Boruto and Naruto round on Sasuke. "No one asked you!"

He shrugs, not really bothered by the twin glares directed at him. In the midst of his own emotional turmoil, he can't help clinging to the minor note of satisfaction Naruto's circumstances bring. Apparently, he's not the only one with a turbulent relationship with his future child. From Boruto's attitude, it sounds like he's not completely impressed with his father in the future. At least Sarada actually seemed to respect Sasuke's future self.

 _Seems_ , he corrects himself. Sasuke has to keep thinking the girl is alive. If he gives in and accepts that she's dead, it means at least one of his life's goals is destined for failure.

Until today, he didn't realise how much he valued that other goal.

As usual, Naruto is unable to keep up his ire very long, his curiosity about Boruto overtaking his usual preoccupation with Sasuke's caustic comments. His eyes are once more drawn to the other boy, still struggling the process this new information.

He's never pictured having a family before, mostly because he does not understand what that means. His dreams all begin and end with being Hokage and earning the love and respect of the people. Sometimes, when he's feeling particularly optimistic, Naruto imagines leading Sakura around with her utterly besotted with him.

 _Obviously, that's not going to happen now._

Under normal circumstances, he'd be more upset about that, but the idea that Sakura will achieve what she wants most in the future tempers him. He really cares about her, and if she's happy—

 _She better be happy,_ he decides, making a mental note to threaten Sasuke's life to _keep_ her happy the next time they get a private moment. Not when he's being stared down by his…

His _son_.

 _Seriously, I just found out who my father was, and now, apparently, I'm going to have a_ son _?_

But he's never pictured children before. Why would he when Sakura, as he mentioned to her earlier, is the only girl who voluntarily spends time with him? No one else would do that without loads of protest.

Well, except…

His friend's words from earlier come back to him. It's not possible she's…right, is it? Would Hinata really…

"Seriously, kid. Who's your mom?" Naruto demands.

Boruto crosses his arms. "I'm not telling you."

"What?! Why not?!"

"Because you called Aunt Sakura _your girl_ , and I'm not convinced you deserve to know. Looks like you're clueless, even at this age."

"It looks like the Hyūga drastically lowered their standards," Sasuke remarks knowingly, not so much taking pity on his teammate as growing bored with the argument.

Once again, he earns two identical icy blue glares.

"Hey!"

"Yeah, hey!"

Naruto processes what he just said. "Wait. So, you also figure it's Hi—"

"That's enough!"

The three boys glance up at Kakashi, whose eyes are hard and jaw is set. Despite his injured state, he has drawn himself up to full height and adopted an imposing presence. It's the one all three of them recognise as him stepping out of his laid-back, easy-going persona and into the elite shinobi commander.

"Now is not the time for this," he reprimands them. He should have interrupted the interchange long before, but the appearance of this boy rattled him. The existence of Boruto is, in a way, more jarring than Sarada.

A part of Kakashi has always suspected that, one day in the future, Sasuke would get over himself and Sakura would smarten up. He's a sucker for a good love story, and his students always radiate that potential. It's simply a matter of time.

With Naruto, though, he's only ever foreseen a life of struggle and difficulty for the boy. Even if he has an irrepressible spirit and can win over almost any heart, the fact that he's the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki limits his future opportunities. Not every ninja in the village would be willing to turn a blind eye to his strange abilities and the secrets of his past.

But if Boruto exists…

It means, in the future, something must happen to change that. For the prestigious Hyūga clan to accept the infamous Naruto Uzumaki as a match for their heiress, the kid is either going to single-handedly save every person in the village, or actually become the Hokage. The circumstances leading to either of those outcomes are beyond the realm of understanding. Even a minor alteration to those events could spell disaster, not only for Kakashi's students' futures, but the entire village.

"Sarada and Sakura are missing," Kakashi continues, bluntly reminding everyone of their priorities. "And, right now, we're not in any condition to find them. Worse than that, our only lead—for either getting them back, or figuring out what started this time-travel phenomenon in the first place—is out of range."

"What lead is that?" Boruto asks.

"The creepy ghost guy who can teleport," Naruto answers. "Kakashi trapped him in some kind of other dimension."

"Really? Cool! How'd you do that? I figured only Uncle Sasuke could open other dimensions. Oh, wait. You have a Sharingan now, don't you?"

Sasuke can't help the way his eyebrows shoot upward. "Wait. _What_?!"

"Boruto, you're even worse at keeping a secret than Sarada is," Kakashi tells him flatly. _She, at least, managed a few hours._

"Hey, who cares about that?! If you've got him trapped somewhere, we can question him! I need to find out what he did with Mitsuki," Boruto replies, punching his right fist into his left palm. "Bring him out! I've got a few things to say to him!"

Kakashi ignores the youthful exuberance. "What happened after you were separated from Sarada?"

"Not a lot," Boruto grimaces. "I didn't get very far after we split up."

"After you left her," Sasuke corrects.

"It wasn't by choice, I swear! She said she could handle it and, if this guy wasn't as strong as he is, she would have—I trust that," Boruto insists. "And I don't know if you noticed, but she's kind of hard to argue with."

Sasuke has to give him that one.

"So, I was making a run for it, and then the world goes black. The bastard must've snuck up on me and knocked me out from behind, the coward! When I woke up, we were tied to these gurney things. Big Bro Konohamaru was still out of it, and Mitsuki was gone."

"This guy makes no sense," Naruto remarks. "He attacks, tries to kill anyone he sees, then fixes them?"

"Obviously, he's nuts," Boruto grumbles. "He kept talking to himself. Or arguing with himself. Anyway, the last thing I remember before getting knocked out, he said something about us being _the wrong ones_ and _the last piece_."

"How did you escape?"

"Feh, piece of cake! All I had to do was untie us and wake up Konohamaru. _Nawanuke_ is an Academy-level skill," Boruto puffs. "I'm kind of insulted he thought I didn't know it."

"Yeah, totally," Naruto agrees. "That's such a rookie mistake. I mean, who doesn't know how to get free from ropes?"

"You," Sasuke points out.

"Oi!"

"What happened next?" Kakashi interjects.

"It took a while to wake up Big Bro. After that, we went looking for Mitsuki. We were just talking about splitting up—I wanted to find Sarada—and then we heard what was going on down this way. Sensei told me to go on ahead, and now I'm here. So, are you going to bring that ghost out again, or are we gonna stand around yakking about it all day?"

"Easier said than done. It's difficult to reopen that world when I'm in peak physical condition, let alone right now. Until my chakra reserves are restored, I can't."

"I might be able to help you with that," a voice from behind them says.

Everyone turns in surprise to see a tall, dishevelled-looking figure in a bloodied scarf inching toward them. Beneath bruises and dirt, there's a smug expression that everyone in the cavern has seen at least once before. Naruto lets out a wordless exclamation of disbelief, while Boruto cries out, "Big Bro Konohamaru! You were supposed to wait!" and darts over to help his teacher.

"You're supposed to call me 'sensei' in public," the man grumbles.

"They're not public, they're family," Boruto shoots back.

Kakashi gives the other man a brief once-over. Nothing appears to be broken or gravely injured, which is at odds with Sarada's account. Yet the placement of the blood on his shirt suggests, at one point, there might have been. Furthermore, Konohamaru's movements are slow and careful, as if he doesn't trust his feet not to skid out from underneath him.

As Boruto helps him over to their little group, Konohamaru finally looks Kakashi full in the eye. "This day keeps getting weirder and weirder, doesn't it Lor- uh, Kakashi-sensei."

"Apparently," Kakashi says dryly. "Sarada mentioned you. I thought you were your father when she first spoke of _Sarutobi-sensei_."

"Dad's been out of the shinobi business for years," Konohamaru says before his expression becomes solemn. "I caught some of what happened. This place echoes. Sarada and Sakura?"

"Unknown. We're operating under the assumption they're alive, for now," Kakashi reveals. "And your team? Sarada and Boruto mentioned another boy."

"Mitsuki. He's missing. Also presumed alive. Our mutual enemy seems to want him for something, but we still don't know what— _Oi! Stop that_!"

Naruto pokes at Konohamaru, who rounds on him like he intends to tell him off, and freezes at the sight of him.

"Geez, you got old," Naruto tells him.

Konohamaru slowly shakes his head. "And I forgot how short you used to be, Boss."

"It _is_ you!" Naruto guffaws. "So, you're a jōnin now? I bet it was due to my awesome training, right?"

"Hah! You bet it was!" Konohamaru sniggers, rubbing at his nose confidently. "Hey, I've got something important to show you!"

Before anyone can react, he forms a quick hand-seal and— _poof_! Suddenly, the cavern is filled with a group of women in various states of undress. A few of them pose wantonly while others beckon to Naruto shyly.

" _Oh, Naruto, what do you think of my newest Sexy Jutsu_?" the woman nearest him coos; she looks an awful lot like Tenten, albeit a lot…bustier.

"You…have got to be kidding me," Sasuke mutters, right eye twitching, while Kakashi chokes beside him.

Konohamaru can't sustain the jutsu long, however—likely due to his injury. His transformation fails at the exact moment when Sasuke notices one girl in the back has pink hair.

Naruto roars with delighted laughter. "Ha! That's _awesome!"_

"That was…completely inappropriate," Kakashi points out, voice carefully neutral.

"Yeah!" Boruto yells. "You totally stole that from me!"

Sasuke sighs in frustration.

He would love it if someone explained how they got into this situation. The two jōnin here are the most reckless, irresponsible, and perverted people he's ever met. His teammate and his teammate's future son have the combined sense of a goldfish, yet, apparently, Sasuke is going to one day accept the latter for training. He has a future daughter—and a future wife—who will be terrifyingly strong. And the most anyone's said about his future is to comment on his hair and his eyes.

All Sasuke needs to find out now is that Naruto becomes Hokage, and he will officially never be surprised at anything ever again.

"Please tell me it wasn't me who made you a jōnin," Kakashi requests, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Konohamaru opens his mouth to reply, but Sasuke cuts him off. "Never mind that. Sarada said you were wounded, yet you appear fine now."

"I was," Konohamaru admits. "Badly, and if it wasn't for…" He trails off, looking sheepishly at Naruto. "You're not going to get mad at me, right?"

"Huh? Why would I do that?"

"You told me—will tell me—not to use this anymore, but I figured it was a ninja tool. We do need to use what we can in life or death situations. I only had it with me on the off-chance…Obviously, it's completely different from _certain people cheating on their Exams_."

"Hey! Shut up!" Boruto cries, cheeks turning pink.

"Don't be disrespectful to your teacher!"

"Don't rat me out to some weirdo in orange!"

"You cheated on your Exams?" Naruto demands. "What's wrong with you? Unless… Was cheating actually part of it? Because that kind of stumped me."

"Anyway," Konohamaru cuts off the two Uzumaki boys. "It really helped us in this situation, so…"

"Just answer already, you idiot," Sasuke bites out.

Konohamaru gives him a nervous glance—like he's possibly still intimidated by the Uchiha boy, even if he's only twelve. Then he draws out a small metallic device from beneath his sleeve. It resembles a bracer with what appear to be gears on it, and a screen with digital numbers.

"This is the Kote, a ninja weapon developed by scientists in Konoha. It's able to store jutsu. It's usually only offensive jutsu, but over the past few weeks, Sak- uh, the head medical ninja has been experimenting with storing deployable antidotes." He digs into his pocket for several coloured cartridges. "It's simply a matter of choosing the right dose."

"Sarada told us Sakura is a healer in the future," Kakashi tells him. "It doesn't surprise me that this would be her doing." He gestures for the Kote, which Konohamaru gives him to examine. "And our ghost friend didn't notice this?"

"I suspect he didn't recognise what it was," Konohamaru says. "Which was really lucky."

"Perhaps," Kakashi muses. "Is this technology common in your time?"

"You mean is it a secret? No. Not since our Chūnin Exam finals." Konohamaru gives Boruto a reproachful sideways look which the boy sticks his tongue out at. "But it's also not used in any widespread capacity. Only emergency situations as I said earlier."

"Hm." Kakashi ruminates on that for a spell, an incomplete theory buzzing at the back of his mind. He'll need more proof before he's comfortable sharing it, however. And, until he's strong enough to bring back the teleporter, that will have to wait. "How is the chakra sustained in your device? Without a constant connection to the source, the jutsu should become useless."

"I don't understand the science stuff. There's a time limit, obviously," Konohamaru allows. "So far, the way it's done is to use a jutsu about three times as strong as the actual effect you want to achieve. In this case, Sakura offered up some of her strongest general healing."

"And that worked?"

"Temporarily," Konohamaru's smile is more of a grimace. "Whatever poison our ghost friend is using, it's strong. It's still in my system—and Mitsuki's, if he's still alive. We'd need to have a poisons expert analyse it to be completely cured."

That's not good news. "How long do you think you have?" Kakashi asks quietly.

"A day, maybe more, if we're lucky. Then, even these antidotes won't do anything. It's why I sent Boruto on ahead when we heard voices. He's the only one on the team who wasn't injured. Unless Sarada—"

"Shattered arm," Kakashi shakes his head. "Possibly worse, if she survived." Hope enters his voice. "Do you have anything in there that can help her?"

"Broken bones, easy," Konohamaru nods. "Lacerations and chakra replenishing, too. And you look like you could benefit from it as well."

"I'd appreciate it." Kakashi nods. "Right. Then if we find Sarada—"

"When," Sasuke interrupts.

"Right. _When_ we find Sarada, we can help her. Until that time, we have to make sure Konoha is informed of what's going on. We were actually trying to find you, Konohamaru, for that reason."

"Huh?"

"We need help. The only way of communicating with the world outside of the time bubble right now is by summons," Kakashi explains. "Lady Tsunade and Konoha's forces are on standby in our time, but I don't imagine your Hokage is up to date yet."

"No," Konohamaru replies grimly. "We didn't realise how serious the situation was. When we were investigating, we figured there was something going on with different dimensions. We were on our way back to report in when we were attacked. It didn't even occur to me that time-travel would be involved—not until I saw all of you."

"Well, as you can see…" Kakashi trails off, nodding at Naruto and Boruto.

"Yeah."

"I can't use any of my summons in this time," he goes on. "So, you need to use one of yours to tell Konoha that we'll need backup."

"We can't wait for it, though," Konohamaru says, even as he brings out a summoning scroll. "For all we know, whatever is going on could make travel here difficult."

"Which is why, as soon as you're done, we will bring our ghost friend back here and ask him a few questions," Kakashi says coolly. "I'm sure, between us, we can get him to talk."

He considers Konohamaru, looking for something to show the young man has at least matured enough to be trusted with this task.

Resolve burns in his eyes, along with a distant sadness that Kakashi recognises. Somewhere in the future, Konohamaru will face something that makes him more than just an entitled kid. It's that experience Kakashi hopes to draw on now.

"All right. Let's do this."

With the parchment on the ground, Konohamaru bites his thumb, dribbling blood on the unfurling paper. Seals radiate outwards in a circular pattern as his presses his hand against it, and with a grunt of effort, he forces a burst of chakra through his palm.

"Gamakirō, we need some help!" he calls, his voice firm and authoritative. It's a stark contrast to the Konohamaru that Team 7 are familiar with.

Smoke billows from the parchment, obscuring them all for a few seconds.

When it clears, however, it is not a _giant_ toad from Mount Myōboku that has appeared.

A tiny toadlet – about the size of a cat – stares up at them all in bemusement.

"Well," Boruto remarks, "that's not going to be very helpful."

"Rude," the baby toad sniffs, then turns to the boy's sensei. "Hey, Mister Konohamaru! You're not looking so good!"

Konohamaru groans. "I'll be fine, Gamasukō. But it looks like I'm not up to my usual strength just yet. The poison must be weakening my blood more than I thought, if it's affecting the summoning."

"I don't think it's your blood. Getting here was a pain," the tiny amphibian says, hopping up on Konohamaru's shoulder. "It's almost like it's blocked. Grandfather was trying to get here when you called, but the portal that opened was way too small for him. So, he sent me instead!" He sounds smug. "It's my first summoning!"

"Congrats, hey!"

Konohamaru and the small creature bump fists.

"This isn't good news," Kakashi says wearily. "If summons from this time are being affected now, it means the dimensions have become even more compromised. Soon, even people from this time won't be able to use _Kuchiyose_."

He and Konohamaru exchange grim looks, knowing that such an ability can be the difference between life and death during battle. The man from the future addresses the toadlet.

"Sukō, I need you to find Sasuke Uchiha."

"Okee-dokee, Mister Konohamaru, that's easy. Isn't that him right there?"

He points at the dark-haired boy who is watching the exchange with raised eyebrows.

"Not _this_ Sasuke Uchiha, _our_ Sasuke Uchiha. From our time!"

"Oh, okay…yeah, I thought he looked kinda short…"

Naruto sniggers. He's used to being the one that gets his lack of height pointed out. Sasuke sends the toadlet a withering look that has it hiding beneath the flap of Konohamaru's scarf.

"Sarada mentioned her father has some experience with dimensional shifting?" Kakashi questions, and Sasuke's ears perk up. This is not something he was aware of. It seems Kakashi has gotten more information from Sarada than he's been letting on.

"Yeah. And if things are as bad as I think they are, her dad's the only one in the world with the knowledge of dimensional portals. And who can navigate them," Konohamaru explains. "If we're about to lose our ability to summon, he'll be the only person that stands a chance of getting here if the breach gets worse. Which makes it even more important that you find him, and fast, Sukō."

"Aw, man, do I have to? That guy gives me the creeps." The tiny amphibian shivers visibly. "Even we heard about what he did to Manda all those years ago…"

"He creeps me out too, but it's our only option right now," Konohamaru answers.

"You're both aware that I can hear you, right?" Sasuke inquires through gritted teeth.

"Uncle Sasuke's wicked strong," Boruto puts it loyally. Then, in a more grudging voice and while eyeing Naruto doubtfully, "It might help to have Dad, too. He's –"

"Anyone would know who your father is just by looking at you, shrimp," the toad quips.

"Hey! I'm bigger than you are!"

"You're still shorter than me," Naruto says gleefully. "So, it sounds like I'm famous! Does that mean I'm a super ninja, too? I can cross dimensions and stuff?"

"No, it means Future-You has enough chakra to back up Sasuke if he needs an extra boost," Konohamaru tells him, and makes an impatient gesture at Sukō. "Get going already, hey!"

"Sounds like I'm going to grow up to be an overgrown battery," Naruto grumbles as the toadlet disappears.

 _Why does Sasuke get to do everything cool?_

"Right, that's done—next," Kakashi says. "There's not a lot of time. We need everyone's wounds seen to as best we can, and then we've got to get this place set up properly. If we're bringing our ghost friend back here, we need wards and protections to keep him from teleporting away while we interrogate him."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Sasuke asks, looking around the ruined cavern. There are deep cracks in the floor, and rubble left over from their bitter fight with Mumyōi.

"Unless Konohamaru and Boruto found anywhere else that would suit."

"No, it's just more tunnels back the other way," Boruto says. "We didn't have time to explore them all before we heard you guys and decided to investigate."

"Then this is all we've got. We also need to heal up as best as possible in case the interrogation goes badly. Given our track record today, I'd say there's a high probability of that, so we need to be extra prepared."

"No offence, but this sounds like a really crappy plan," Naruto mutters.

"Well, it's like Shikadai says," Boruto pipes up. "Really good plans either involve complex strategy or dumb luck. Either way, they're a drag."

"I can guess which one you prefer," Sasuke grumbles, as Konohamaru offers up the use of the Kote to heal the injured.

It's mostly unnecessary.

Sasuke is fine excepting a few deep scratches in his chest; the curse seal amplified his reflexes and helped him avoid injury, even as it depleted his chakra. Luckily, Konohamaru has some of the chakra replenishing patches Sarada mentioned earlier. As soon as he sticks a few of them to his skin, Sasuke feels his strength returning to him. As for healing, he insists he doesn't need it.

"Kakashi's the one that got clawed in the guts," he tells Konohamaru when offered a healing jutsu from the Kote. "He needs it more."

Naruto also doesn't need much in the way of medicinal care. Whatever Sarada and Sakura did, combined with his own natural healing factor, he appears to be coping well.

"I'm just a bit tired," he says when Kakashi asks how he's doing, "but I'm so gonna sleep for a week when we get home, believe it!"

In the end, only Kakashi ends up requiring major healing. A large quantity of chakra replenishing strips and two concentrated blasts of stored healing energy go into fixing him up, with the hopes it will put him back in prime condition for reopening the doorway to his _Kamui_ dimension.

Meanwhile, Konohamaru gives Boruto the directive to create wards throughout the cavern, passing him a small scroll with the specific symbols needed.

"He always has a spare canister of spray-paint on him," Konohamaru explains with a grin when Kakashi looks at him askance.

And decides he really doesn't want to know.

"Is it really a good idea to trust him with placing the wards?" Sasuke asks, staring at the blond boy distrustfully. "If he really is Naruto's kid…"

"Boruto's smart," Konohamaru tells him with a note of defensiveness there. "He and Sarada were usually neck and neck back at the Academy. And he's been getting extra lesson from Future-You. Of course, I trust him."

Boruto looks smug as he heads off to do as he was told, while Naruto and Sasuke share of an uncertain look. Neither is completely sure what to make of the fact everyone from the future speaks of them as if they are heroes. And apparently close enough that their children respectively call them "uncle".

Naruto is curious, mostly, but Sasuke is wary.

He never wanted to be a hero, or even craved the respect and admiration of others. Not the way Naruto does, anyhow. Still, it looks like in the future, for whatever reason, he is due that kind of treatment.

 _Father. Husband. Hero._

The words flash in his brain, utterly foreign and devoid of connection. Despite the taste of the future he has been offered today, he can't picture it.

Kakashi is having his own difficulties adjusting to future truths. He might not spend much time with Konohamaru, but now being faced with the kid, who has clearly grown into his talents, is sobering.

He feels very old suddenly.

"You're lucky to still be standing," Konohamaru tells him, staring at the angry welts across Kakashi's abdomen before he loads the second healing cartridge into the Kote. "The entry wound is from the front, but it looks like whatever caused that should have severed your spine."

"Pure luck that it didn't. And I have your student to thank," Kakashi grimaces as a glowing green ball of chakra blossoms from the device and into Konohamaru's hand. The other jōnin slowly presses it into his abdomen. "She attempted a very complex healing technique, despite her own condition— _ow!_ "

"Sorry. Healing jutsu doesn't mean I have a medic-nin's touch," Konohamaru apologises. "And yeah, that definitely sounds like Sarada."

"She does you credit as a teacher."

Konohamaru looks away, eyes gleaming suspiciously. "What a compliment! And from Lord Sixth no less! I was never even praised in this way while you were still Hokage!"

Kakashi rolls his eyes.

 _And there's the little buffoon I know…_

"Apparently, your students aren't the only ones bad at keeping secrets," he says dryly.

"It's a different world we live in," Konohamaru says. "The life of a shinobi is no longer just about secrets and subterfuge. Well, not _entirely_. Talent still goes a long way. And Sarada—well, she doesn't let anything stop her. You know, she's the one who directly appealed to the Hokage for us to be registered as Team 7? And when I did a Bell-Test with them before our first mission, and she actually managed to take a bell."

"That doesn't mean anything," Boruto interjects as he passes by them, still marking down the warding symbols on the ground. "You were the idiot that was busy rambling about my Sexy Jutsu. If you'd have paid more attention, she wouldn't have gotten it. Besides, I beat your Rasengan with—"

"Hey! I've single-handedly taken out S-class criminals! You watch our mouth and get back to work, hey!"

"Then stop getting so worked up about stupid crap while we're trying to save the world! We haven't got the time for you to get all teary eyed, when Sarada and Aunt Sakura could be in trouble!" Boruto shouts back, before whirling around and stomping back to finish the seals.

 _Looks like he has no respect for his teacher either…_

"He's definitely Naruto's son," Kakashi says mildly. "Although—and I never thought I would say this—Naruto might have a little more…humility to him."

Konohamaru lets out an exhausted exhale.

"Well, they were brought up differently. Naruto was on his own and always had to work hard, but Boruto…well, he might be a _little_ spoiled."

"You think?"

They both watch Boruto get back to drawing the seals, muttering to himself in annoyance, then glance over to Naruto. The boy is examining his orange jacket with a rueful look on his face.

"Aw, man, I'm gonna have to sew this thing up _again_. Why does everyone always hate on my jacket?"

Sasuke makes a derisive noise, not even bothering to answer that, and Naruto sticks his tongue out at him.

His friend is cleaning and wrapping the knuckles he split apart in his brief fit of rage at Sakura and Sarada's disappearance. He is more concentrated on the task than is necessary, especially considering how he usually hates any acknowledgement of injuries. Naruto privately suspects that it bothers Sasuke that he can heal faster than him, but he's never said anything about it. Mentioning it would probably lead to the truth about the Nine-Tails coming out, and if there's anything Naruto wants to keep secret, it's that.

He's just started earning Sasuke's respect—at a glacially slow pace—he's not ready to have that return to contempt.

Besides, it would just be one more overwhelming piece of information to force on him. Naruto has his own difficulty wrapping his head around the strange truths that have been thrust upon him today. With all Sasuke's issues it's surprising the Uchiha boy hasn't passed out from information overload. It's usually at this point that Sakura might check up on him, with Naruto lingering unobtrusively in the background pretending not to care. Without her here, though, he suspects that's his job now.

 _Damn it. Sasuke barely puts up with it from_ her _, he'll probably punch_ me _…_

Still, Naruto dutifully crouches down beside Sasuke.

"Need any help?" he offers awkwardly. "Your back's kind of shredded."

"Go away. I'm fine," is the short, firm response.

"Uh…yeah. I can see that. But unless you're double-jointed, you're not gonna be able to reach back to wrap it properly. And you could tear it, which would make it worse. And when Sakura gets back and sees you, she'll freak out, and so will Sarada, because maybe you've been a total jerk to her, but you're still her future father and–"

"Naruto. Shut up," Sasuke tells him, jaw clenching at the mention of his future daughter—who may or may not be dead.

But he grudgingly holds out the bandages.

Naruto grins and takes them, but then pauses before unravelling them.

"Before you get any weird ideas, I'm only doing this because Sakura's not here," he insists defensively. "And because she'll pummel me if she finds out I didn't keep you from killing yourself while she's away."

Sasuke rolls his eyes in reply.

Naruto sets to work taping up his friend's back, all the while keeping an eye out for what Boruto is up to across the cave.

The boy is focussed—in a way Naruto doesn't think he's ever managed—and copies the sealing symbols the jōnin gave him with relative ease. It seems like he doesn't even need to consult the guide Konohamaru gave him.

 _Smart, right? Doesn't get that from me._

His thoughts flash to another newly discovered truth.

 _Unless it skips a generation. The Fourth Hokage was a genius, right? Hey…I wonder if this kid knows anything about my dad…?_

At that moment, the kid glances up at Naruto, a look of bafflement and calculation there. Upon meeting each other's gazes, they both quickly look away.

"Damn it, this is so weird!" Naruto hisses, more to himself than to Sasuke. "How did you not completely lose your mind when you found out about Sarada?" Sasuke flinches at her name and Naruto winces. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

Which probably means it's anything but, in Sasuke-speak.

"You're really taking all this well," Naruto says carefully. "I mean, I've seen the stupid shit you do when people you care about are in danger." His memory flashes to images of Sasuke, senbon impaling his throat, and then again facing down a crazed Gaara, practically begging Naruto to get Sakura to safety. "You sure you're alright?"

"We don't have the luxury of worrying about anything beyond what's right in front of us," Sasuke tells him neutrally. "And right now, the only thing we can deal with is the teleporter."

"Yeah, but you've still got to deal with the other stuff, or your head'll explode. I mean, I feel like that's what's going to happen to me." He lowers his voice to a whisper and points. " _That's my kid! I am freaking out right now!"_

Sasuke doesn't answer, not wanting to admit that Naruto is right.

If he learns any more information today, he's almost positive his brain will just shut down. He already feels as if he's lost his mind, as if the constant revelations about the future have tipped him beyond conventional sanity. It's like all of this is a particularly lucid dream, and he's just hanging on for the ride.

"Fine, you go ahead and be Mr. Funny Hair King of Sulking," Naruto continues with a sniff. "But I'm telling you now, when we find Sakura again, you'd better take care of her. She deserves way better than you—not that either of you is ever going to get _that_ message."

Sasuke glowers at him.

"And I swear—if you ever hurt her, you're a footnote in history. I'll kill you and make it look like an accident."

" _Tch_. As if you could."

"If it were for Sakura, I would! I've held back before because I knew she liked you and if I beat the stuffing out of you it'd hurt my chances."

"And yet you're throwing all that away now?" Sasuke counters, a little peeved at the notion of Naruto holding back against him. "Based on what Kakashi said before, the future isn't completely set. Shouldn't you be thinking up some far-fetched scheme right now to tip the odds back in your favour?"

"That'd be kind of stupid, seeing as how we've already met our kids," Naruto rolls his eyes. "And as much of a little jerk as mine is, he did save our asses. And he can do Rasengan and Sexy Jutsu, so it could be a lot worse."

"Your high standards astound me."

"Look, good things don't happen to me. Like, ever," Naruto says, serious for once. "But so far what I've seen looks better than anything I might have imagined. Unless I also get to be Hokage, which would make things a hundred times better. But I'm going to have a kid, and you're going to get your head out of your ass and accept me as your equal—"

"No one ever said that's going to happen."

"—and I'm even going to have a wife. I mean…Hinata's nice. Kind of weird, but nice. And you and Sakura will be happy. We're going to be Team 7 forever—and then our _kids_ are going to inherit that, which is really cool. So, I don't want you screwing it up, asshole. Got it?"

"Hm."

"I'm taking that as a yes," Naruto tells him blithely. They are silent for a spell. The only sound in the cave is the shake-click of Boruto's paint canister, and the indistinct conversation between Kakashi and Konohamaru. Then, Naruto clears his throat and says, "Sakura says Hinata likes me right now. Do you think—?"

"Yes, you moron. Stop wasting my time with tedious crap and finish with my back."

"Hey, no need to be so insulting!"

"No need to be an idiot, but it doesn't stop you."

"You know what? I'll risk the beating—finish your own damn back…"

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	21. Chapter Eighteen

"Aw, man, I'm out!"

Naruto and Sasuke turn away from each other, drawn by the complaint from the boy across the room. Boruto is glowering down at the canister in his hand, shaking it uselessly as if that will eke out a little more paint. There's at least a quarter of the circular ward that hasn't been drawn yet.

Naruto rolls his eyes and makes a scoffing noise, like how he sounds when Konohamaru messes up _Kakuremino._

"Amateur," he mutters, digging into his own pockets. He unloads his slingshot and a packet of instant ramen before finding what he was looking for. "Hey, Shrimp, heads up!"

Something sails across the room and is deftly caught by a surprised Boruto. Examining it, his eyes widen in surprise to realise it is a thick tube of paint.

"You carry paint around with you?" Sasuke questions, incredulous.

"Never leave home without it," he replies, and then says, "You never know if an opportunity will present itself."

There's a weird double timber, and he realises that the other blond boy said the exact same thing as him. The two Uzumakis exchange glances, and identical, mischievous grins appear on both their faces.

Sasuke pinches the bridge of his nose. "You carry around paint, but you couldn't grab a few more bandages before leaving on this mission?"

"Well…you know. Priorities."

"What is _wrong_ with you?"

"Okay, you're good to go," Konohamaru announces, cutting off the inevitable argument. Kakashi gets to his feet, examining the new, pink skin across his abdomen. It's tender and itchy, but at least the wounds are closed. "Do you need a few minutes to prep, or…?"

"No. It won't make a difference. We should do this now." Kakashi motions for Naruto, Sasuke and Boruto. "Everyone get back. I don't want you anywhere near my line of vision in order to avoid accidents."

"Don't need to tell me twice," Naruto chirps.

With everyone standing close behind him, Kakashi takes a deep breath and focusses. With his Sharingan open and directing all of his chakra on a single point in the distance, he wills the layers of reality to ebb away from one another.

He feels the air in front of him shift, and sees the air ripple like a heat mirage, a prelude to the doorway he means to open.

However, after several laborious seconds of concentration, nothing happens.

"It's not enough," he says, and the tension leaves his muscles. "Damn it."

"I have an idea," Konohamaru says after a pause moment. "I mean, it might not be a really good one, but if it helps, hey."

"What is it?" Kakashi asks, weary.

"Naruto and Sasuke."

"Huh?" Both boys adopt expressions of confusion, while Kakashi is sceptical. However, Boruto brightens.

"Yeah! When Dad and Uncle Sasuke work together, they can do anything! I've seen it!"

Again, Naruto and Sasuke exchange expressions as if to ask ' _he's talking about_ us _?'._ Those expressions turn to even more comical surprise when Kakashi nods in agreement.

"I know they work well together," he says, "but that doesn't mean they can affect my ability to open _Kamui_." He considers again then says, "Sasuke, maybe. There's a distinct undertone in my chakra because of the Sharingan, it could perhaps sync with his for an added boost. But even with the chakra replenishing patches he's used, he still isn't fully recovered. I don't think it would be enough."

"I'd make it enough," Sasuke asserts, a little annoyed that his teacher is being so flippant about his perceived weakness.

"Not without calling on the curse seal again, and you've done that enough for one day," Kakashi declares. "We can't take any more unnecessary risks, and that's a big one."

"Curse seal?" Boruto asks, while Konohamaru whistles.

"Wow, I haven't heard about that in a while. You guys _are_ far back. I mean, I knew you were when I saw…" his eyes linger on Sasuke, and then he coughs awkwardly. "Anyway. Back on topic. What I was going to say before is, Naruto would have to back up Sasuke by lending him chakra."

"That would be superfluous with the curse seal," Sasuke insists.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto demands, while Kakashi shakes his head and insists, "No."

"It's worth using if it gets the teleporter out and us one step closer to stopping what's going on." He carefully doesn't mention the missing girls, not wanting to appear as desperate as Naruto and Boruto.

"I said 'no', Sasuke. That's final."

Sasuke glares but doesn't push it again.

"It's better all around if Naruto helps, because he's…well," Konohamaru starts and then lamely finishes, "because he's Naruto."

"Right, because that explains everything," Sasuke sneers.

Naruto, on the other hand, notices the way that the two jōnin are looking at him right now—Konohamaru knowing and Kakashi with dawning comprehension—and realises what they are referring to.

Because he has the power of the Nine-Tails behind him, he has more of a chance of supplying a virtually unending fount of chakra.

If the asshole fox helps.

 _Keep making comments like that and I won't_ , the demon snarls at him.

Naruto doesn't reply, however, his thoughts more concerned with the fact that Konohamaru will know about him in the future. The demon within him is something he hasn't even told his teammates, who are the people he cares about most in the world, but he's going to tell Konohamaru?

 _Maybe it's just something that everyone gets to know when they hit a certain age_ , Naruto theorizes with a little bitterness. Like everyone else in the world is entitled to knowing about his life and what was done to him.

Except…

He notices that Boruto is utterly unsurprised.

 _So maybe in the future everyone knows about me and is…actually alright with it?_

The idea is a little jarring, even as it fills him with a light, giddy kind of warmth. There's nothing Naruto has dreamed of more in his life than people looking at him and seeing him, not the demon bonded to his soul. And from Konohamaru's behaviour, it seems knowing the truth didn't change how he sees Naruto.

And Boruto might be an annoying brat, but the contempt he has for Naruto doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Nine Tails.

Meanwhile, Sasuke…

Sasuke just looks confused.

 _Because he doesn't know any of this_ , Naruto reminds himself, and grins. It's always fun to know something that Sasuke doesn't.

"Okay, yeah, I can do it, no sweat," he brags, striking what he thinks is a cool-guy pose – chin jutted out and examining his nails. He peeks at Sasuke from the corner of his eye to see how his teammate takes this.

Sasuke refuses to look at him.

"We still have a problem," he tells them instead. "Kakashi said Naruto couldn't help before when he wanted to help Sakura summon Bull. I figured it was because his control is so poor—"

"Hey!"

"—but clearly that's not the case if you want him to do it now. So, what's changed?"

"You mean other than the fact you're jealous I'm about the save the day again?"

"Don't be stupid."

"It was partially to do with poor chakra control," Kakashi admits, and Naruto's shoulders slump, "but that's something I'm trained to handle. Sakura isn't. Also, based on the amount of chakra he can produce, Naruto might have summoned a giant dog that either crushed us all or blew up Sakura."

"Which would be bad," Boruto chips in helpfully.

Sasuke frowns at Naruto, trying to figure out at what point it became a universally accepted truth that his dead-last teammate is stronger than him. It annoys him, confirming doubts he's been keeping secret for weeks now.

"Well, it's worth a try," Kakashi says, while Sasuke clenches his fists. "If we create a chakra circuit, it might work."

"A what?"

"Like chakra sharing, only on a grander scale. It's a jōnin level technique that allows the users to distribute their different chakra abilities into a uniform bridge of power."

"That way, no one blows up, right?" Boruto asks.

"Exactly."

"Aw, man, I was right," Naruto complains. "I'm just a giant battery to you people!"

"Are you saying your afraid?" Sasuke challenges.

"Hah!" Naruto snorts. "I laugh in the face of danger!"

"In this case I think danger's laughing harder," Boruto snorts.

"It should create the exact chakra, and in the exact amount we need, to bring the teleporter out," Kakashi concludes.

"And Boruto and I will be ready to know him out if he tries anything," Konohamaru adds.

"Which definitely won't be a problem since I've done such an awesome job with the wards," Boruto brags.

"Thanks to me," Naruto interjects. "Looks like there's still a few things your old man can teach you!"

Boruto makes a face. "Don't say stuff like that. It's bad enough when you're old, but right now it sounds way lame."

"Hey, _you're_ way lame!"

"Let's just do this already, so they'll shut up," Sasuke says, trudging over. "Tell me what to do."

"It still might not work," Kakashi warns him, as Naruto hurries over as well, not wanting to be outdone by Sasuke. "And even if it does, remember, this guy's tricky."

"So we won't leave him any openings," Konohamaru declares.

Kakashi gives a quick explanation of the process. It's rather similar to how he talked Sakura and Sasuke through it earlier, however in this case the boys don't need to sync their chakra together. Instead, they stand on either side of Kakashi, hands on his shoulder, waiting for the order to send as much chakra his way as possible.

With his students on either side of him, Kakashi once again focusses all his attention on the air over the center of the ward circle.

A shiver of fear and anticipation moves through his body as both the boys begin to focus on channelling their chakra through him. Though Kakashi is able to direct the combined power through all three of them, the boys' chakra signatures have suddenly flared up, as intense as the glares he knows they are shooting at one another.

Their constant rivalry, which today's adventure has conveniently shoved out of precedence, resurges now from where it always simmers beneath the surface.

"Concentrate," Kakashi orders, blood dripping down from his eye to saturate his mask. There is no time for them to fight out their grievances with one another today, and he has even less inclination or ability to play referee. "All of our chakra needs to be moving as one."

The intensity of their chakra signatures levels out, and he exhales in relief.

 _I really hope they don't accidentally blow me up after all…_

At first, it seems as if there is a hole in the air before them. Beyond that, nothing happens.

There is a small chance the ghost might not be nearby or might choose not to come out. If that's the case, they must close the portal and try again—or Kakashi will have to travel through himself and somehow bring the teleporter back.

He's never had to bring back anything, however, and he doesn't know if even the combined chakra of himself, Naruto and Sasuke will do much.

Both boys are now panting, sweat dripping down their faces, jaws clenched in effort. He knows neither one will give in until one—or both—of them pass out.

Thankfully, it doesn't come to that.

The world ripples around them once more, and then suddenly the familiar pale, marked figure leaps into existence from the other dimension.

Kakashi's eye snaps shut and the portal closes. He stumbles back, hand falling from where it kept Naruto and Sasuke's chakra in sync. The boys collapse towards each other as well, out of breath, but holding each other up at first. Seconds later they notice and hastily pull away.

The teleporter, meanwhile, uses this brief lapse to glance around and then he disappears—

Only to reappear a second later at the edge of the ward.

 _They held_!

Kakashi is not the only one relieved.

Realising he is still trapped, the teleporter tries to execute several attempts at escape, disappearing and reappearing in rapid succession within the warded perimeter. When this proves fruitless, he pauses, fathomless eyes taking in the wards surrounding him, and then he tries to cross it on foot.

"Sorry!" Boruto says, as three clones of him surround the circular ward on all sides. "You won't be getting away from me this time!"

"Insipient child!" the man snaps and settles into the beginnings of a lunge.

Only to freeze when there is a sudden whirring of gears and muffled _pop!_

A long, dark shadow stretches across the cave floor, attaching itself to the teleporter and to Konohamaru, who brandishes his Kote with a grin.

"Well, you can't say he didn't tell you," he points out jovially.

"Everyone, spread out and make sure we've got eyes on him from every angle," Kakashi orders.

The teleporter works his jaw furiously, and then abruptly, calms. He watches everyone surround him with a vague expression, head tilted to one side like a bird. Naruto tries not to shudder at the feel of those dead eyes focussing on him, and hoping that his father never had eyes like this.

He is relieved when the penetrating gaze leaves him, but it's short lived once Naruto sees that unwavering attention fall on Boruto.

"You two look alike," he comments dimly. " _Curious_."

He draws out the last word, with the terrifying interest of someone used to dissecting objects or people he finds curious.

"Never mind that," Kakashi orders. "We have questions for you. Starting with who you are."

Everyone expects addled mumbling or evasiveness, but the man in front of them appears to have adopted his more lucid personality.

"I am Jikken," he says gravely. "How do you do?"

 _Alright, maybe not totally lucid…_

"Why have you been attacking us?" Kakashi asks.

"And what did you do with Mitsuki?!" Boruto yells.

The man—Jikken—blinks. "What is a mitt-suki?"

"That's my teammate, you creep! The pale kid that was with us and who you thought was the Snake Sannin!"

Naruto and Sasuke perk up at this, because that's not exactly an identity mistake many people would make.

"Oh, yes, him," Jikken muses out loud, as if he really did forget.

"Where did you take him?!"

"To see the goddess, of course."

Konohamaru freezes, and even Boruto seems taken aback by this. Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke have no idea what he means, but based on their comrades palpable worry, it's nothing good.

"What goddess?" Konohamaru asks, voice barely above a whisper.

Jikken's mouth slowly pulls into a chilling, mad smile and continues to consider the warding circle around him. He is ostensibly evaluating the strength of the symbols and the potential threat of Boruto's shadow clones, as if he hasn't just delivered some kind of bombshell.

Still gathered behind Kakashi, everyone radiates some degree of tension. The words are mystifying, bordering on troubling to Kakashi—tales of gods in shinobi lore rarely end well—but his students are merely confused. Konohamaru and Boruto, on the other hand, seem downright anxious.

"There's no way," Konohamaru murmurs, voice a whisper but cracking in disbelief. "There's just no possible way…!"

Kakashi glances to the side, just in time to see Boruto nodding, quickly, like he's trying to convince himself of the very same sentiment.

"What are you talking about?" Kakashi asks, under his breath.

But Konohamaru simply shakes his head. Either he is too overcome with disbelief, or knows it's not the time for the explanation.

"Your device is ingenious," Jikken remarks mildly, eyes flitting back to the Kore on Konohamaru's wrist; it's the only movement he's currently capable of. "The future is truly a marvelous place. Perfect and happy. You all think nothing can touch you." His eyes harden and a palpable rage radiates off of him. "They're all unaware of the crimes. Crimes forgotten and buried. Things that must be said." His tone shifts to calm again. "Your false _Kagemane_ will not last long. All I need to do is wait for that chakra to run out. Then, the only thing you have to ensnare me with are a child's shadow clones."

"That's not the only thing," Sasuke ventures, Sharingan active and spinning, daring the enemy to make a wrong mood.

"Perhaps," Jikken allows, almost uncaring. "You ought to save your chakra."

"There are other ways to keep you here if necessary," Kakashi assures him, and Naruto shivers a little. Despite his worry for them, he is suddenly very glad that the girls aren't here to see this. He often forgets that Kakashi was ANBU and has no qualms about using lethal measures of gaining information.

Sasuke, on the other hand, is annoyed that their enemy is lecturing him on preserving his chakra. He might be mad, but in his lucid moments, Jikken shows himself to be very intelligent. It would be wrong to underestimate him. Direct interrogation probably won't work in this case.

Kakashi feels the same.

"You know about the Nara technique," he points out. "Considering it's only used for assassinations, people outside of Konoha shouldn't know about it."

"The Nara are an old and distinguished clan," Jikken recites, a slightly mocking note to his words. "I lived in a hovel near them. Too busy with their important, official matters to notice a child starving outside their front door. Such were the advisors to the Hokage." He notices something and a bitter smile appears on his face. "Oh, this surprises them, does it? Their beloved village, not perfect? The lies they've been told…"

Indeed, Boruto and Konohamaru shift uncomfortably at this, but Naruto and Sasuke aren't as taken aback. Both were orphans, and in different ways, both grew up seeing a darker side of the village than most people did. Even Kakashi has experienced some facets of this.

 _If you don't fit a certain mold, often you fall through the cracks._

"Wait—you lived in Konoha?" Naruto demands. "But Kakashi-sensei, I thought you said he was a clone? Didn't you say Orochi—"

"DON'T SAY IT!" Jikken explodes, pale face turning a mottled puce. The insane look in his eyes returns, and his entire body shakes as he fights against the shadow holding him. "MONSTERS DON'T GET NAMES!" His voice lowers into a growl. "Deceptive, coward, sneak, LIAR! He saw a poor child on the street, lonely, unwanted—all the boy wanted was to be a shinobi, and there was no way. He climbed trees outside the Academy, stared through the window, just to learn…not enough money, his parents didn't care," Jikken mutters, almost whispering angrily to himself. "When the snake man came, he promised food, and training. A gift. Happy day, happy day, happy day… LIES!"

Insanity is not something that the assembled genin have ever encountered, and Kakashi can tell they are all confused by the shifting moods of their quarry. Konohamaru, too, looks slightly unsettled, though he remains in control. Cornering an enemy who is so out of touch with reality and sense can be unpredictable. In a way, it might be more dangerous than his ability to teleport. The best thing is to allow him his stage to speak, and take cues from what topics he reacts to.

"Changed the face of the boy," Jikken continues, eyes staring into the distance at something none of them can actually see. "So many needles and knives." He shudders. "Make the outside match the inside, to match to borrowed powers." He stares hard at Naruto. "Eyes like yours. And hair. Never good enough! Never strong enough, fast enough!"

He is breathing hard now, apparently falling apart in front of them.

And then, with an abruptness that feels jarring to the gathered shinobi, he appears to shake himself back into sense.

"There are many books on the Nara in this place," he says conversationally, as sober as if nothing of consequence just happened. It's as if a screen has passed over him, and a different person speaks now. Calm and collect, no sign of the mania from before. "Other clans as well. Like the Uchiha." Now he looks at Sasuke. "The girl was also an Uchiha, yes? Curious, I thought they all died. Except for two. She's not the other, is she?"

The question might be asked in innocence, but Kakashi recognizes a counter-interrogation tactic when he hears one. He also recognizes topics that press his students' buttons, and rather than give Sasuke the opportunity to react to mention of his brother, he interrupts.

"What does it matter to you who she is? You tried to kill her. Twice."

"They see too much," Jikken dismisses. "Can't have interference. We both agree on that, at least. Not the other, though. Pluck out the eyes, cut off the head of the snake, the body will die." He giggles, and if he could move he would probably nod to himself. "Yes."

Not for the first time today Kakashi finds himself at odds for what to do.

The man they have, for all intents and purposes, trapped, is clearly completely and utterly insane. Any mental stability he seems to have is fleeting, and even then, it comes and goes so swiftly it might as well be nonexistent. Jikken's emotions turn from savage one moment, to detached and neutral the next.

 _A coping mechanism, most likely_.

Given what Kakashi knows of Orochimaru's experiments, both the reports he has read in the past and his own encounters with them, it's understandable. There are only a few options open to a survivor of mental and physical torture. In Mumyōi's case, he embraced his baser, more destructive and violent urges. However, he was likely a murderer before he became a test subject. This man, this ghostly reminder trapped before them, who so closely resembles Minato Namikaze but lacks all of his warmth, is an utterly different story.

On the heels of that thought, Kakashi shifts his attention to Naruto for a second, attempting to gauge how the boy is taking all of this. The Uzumaki boy stares at Jikken, completely tense and eyes riveted on the man with the same focus that is usually associated with Sasuke. Naruto's attention is almost desperate, taking in every detail and trying to figure out what parts of their opponent resemble his father, and what parts are the result of experimentation.

Naruto's stomach rolls and he can't help wanting to throw up.

He wonders who has it worse: himself or his teacher.

He has nothing else to compare his father to; no memories, only barely noticed pictures in history books and a face carved into a cliff. But Kakashi, he actually _knew_ him. With an excellent memory and a Sharingan that can throw the differences into agonizing relief, it must be even harder for Kakashi to look on Jikken now and just see a perversion of the face he is so familiar with.

Beyond superficial looks, the most sickening thing in all of this is the obvious lack of sanity in the pitiful man before them.

"That doesn't make sense," Konohamaru counters. "You attacked us before you even knew Sarada had a Sharingan."

Jikken ignores him, lowering his voice and speaking in a harsh whisper. It's as if there is someone there none of them can see. "Must get back to work, it's coming close to the time. Yes, but they don't know their part—do you think they're the right ones this time? Yes, of course. Just look at the boy. No question—"

"What boy?" Naruto demands.

"Apologies, did you say something?" Jikken replies, blinking owlishly as sense returns to him.

"This is going to take forever," Sasuke grumbles.

Aside from Jikken's mental state, there is something off about the guy. Savage one moment, but he still hasn't yet made any actual lethal moves against them. He's even said himself he didn't kill Boruto and Konohamaru's teammate, but brought him somewhere. And from what Sarada mentioned, even when he tries to attack, he shows some kind of guilt afterward.

 _It's like going after people who haven't done anything to him is something he's fighting himself on_.

On the other hand, even if he is fighting with some kind of second self, that doesn't completely excuse him. Or make him any less dangerous. Even if one side of him has no need to harm them, the other might. And if that part of him decides that he wants them all dead, the warding and shadow clones won't be a problem. That's a cause for concern, because it means maybe he's just waiting for something else to happens. And if that's the case, that small shred of intelligence is more than Sasuke is comfortable with.

A strong opponent with serious mental issues is not a good thing.

"You know what? I'm sick of this!" Boruto declares impatiently. "How about we get back to what really matters? Like my teammate! What do you mean, you brought Mitsuki to the goddess? What goddess? If you killed him, I swear, I'm going to—!"

"Kill him?" Jikken questions. "Why would I kill him? That would be counterproductive."

"You said you wanted to pluck out his eyes!"

"A body does not need eyes to function. In point of fact, eyesight is a superfluous sense in many cases. And the staring…" Jikken shudders, and in his manic voice mumbles. "Hollow, hollow, hollow. Like the dead…" He chuckles again. "His eyes remain. She doesn't like it when I take the eyes." Something like genuine fear replaces his mania. "She was angry when I spoke of it. If they hadn't tripped the wards, I would have been punished."

Another barely contained shudder.

"By who?" Konohamaru questions. "The goddess?"

They expect more fearful mutterings, but instead a truly serene demeanour falls over the pale man.

"She is benevolent and good. The saviour," he whispers, reverent. Then the reverence becomes hatred. " _He_ destroyed her—ruined her! Twisted and distorted, made me watch! I died—over and over I died, but then I lived again! All because of her favour!" Hatred becomes thoughtfulness again. "Who else but a goddess can do that? Only she can offer a constant reprieve from death. Made the boy stronger, made him able to run, to escape."

"Mitsuki?" Boruto questions.

"I think he's talking about himself," Sasuke realises.

"You mean _he_ was brought back to life over and over?" Naruto shudders. "Man, I was right about zombies."

Naruto might be attempting to deflect the situation with humour, but his disgust and apprehension are evident. Kakashi has to give his team points for keeping up with the narrative; even he has had trouble with what Jikken is saying. His story is disjointed and confusing, and barely meaningful without a lot of reading between the lines.

What he does understand is even more disconcerting than the imagery Jikken has provided them with.

In a way, Jikken is a prime example of what might have happened to Kakashi's former subordinate, Tenzō, if the boy hadn't been abandoned by Orochimaru. It seems the Sannin's experiments didn't end with trying to replicate the First Hokage's _Mokuton_ ; based on his appearance, and the abilities, Jikken was meant to be a grotesque recreation of the Lord Fourth.

 _Possibly even the Second Hokage, now that I think of it. He's got the same unyielding quality to him that I've heard Tobirama Senju was known for. Though I think Lord Second was probably less insane…_

Whatever the original intent of the experiment, something happened which involved him dying and being brought back. In which case, Kakashi thinks Kabuto was probably involved. Only very strong medical ninjutsu could do that. Or…

 _Or this mysterious goddess he's talking about. Maybe a combination of both. In any case, the repeated resurrection process has completely addled his brains. Maybe to the point that Orochimaru thought he was a lost cause?_

Kakashi feels a red hot swell of anger course through him.

He has often felt an ongoing, growing hatred toward the former Konohanin, not least of all because of his interest in Sasuke. Kakashi's protégé sometimes feels more like a kid brother, and the idea of someone wanting to interfere with him makes him overprotective. Especially if that man is the type of person who is known for abducting children from their homes and running experiments on them.

Experiments which were apparently not limited to granting secret abilities, but also altering DNA and physical looks.

 _There's enough mental trauma in being experimented upon, but to look in the mirror every day and see a face that isn't your own? No wonder he's so dissociative._

"How did you get away?" Boruto asks.

"Time skipped. She made time skip. The boy ran away—escaped. Hid. The place was locked up. _He_ didn't return, and so I came back," Jikken whispers. "Had to. Had to save her, or _he_ would ruin her. But she was gone. Dead eyes, no soul." He moans here, and then that manic gleam returns. "But the boy watched the experiments. Knew the one who killed him over and over. Enough times, I knew how to do it. She was a discarded husk, left here when _he_ couldn't make her do any more. Failed experiment. But I knew." He giggles. "And she knew, too. That I would return, that I would save her. She would only change time for me, not _him_. Nurse her back to health, the boy became a willing servant. Because we'll fix it, you see?"

"Fix what?" Konohamaru asks.

"It's for the greater good," the madman tells them, matter of fact once more. "Really, no cause to harm anyone else. The greatest good is served, is it not?"

"What's the greatest good?" Sasuke asks.

"Why, killing the Snake Man, of course," Jikken rolls his eyes. "Haven't you been listening to a word I've said?"

No one knows exactly how to react to Jikken's statement. For several seconds as they try to process, both the remnants of Team 7 and Team Konohamaru are still.

Naturally, it's Naruto that breaks that silence.

"That's kind of overkill, don't you think?" he asks.

"Yeah," Boruto agrees. "Usually when people try to assassinate other people, they hire shinobi or just do it themselves. They don't really…bend time and space to do it, you know?"

"Which is a matter _I_ would like to know more about," Kakashi interrupts, frowning at Jikken. "How have you done this? Or should I say, how did this goddess of yours do it?"

"I've been trying to destroy _him_ for years," Jikken says conversationally, as if he hasn't heard Kakashi. "What he did to the boy and the goddess…there must be punishment. But it has never been possible. Snakes are smart. A step ahead, _he_ was always a step ahead. And the Knife-Man – " He gives a hiss of disgust. "Standing there, never could see his eyes—bright lights on glass while he sliced, and sliced, and sliced…" He shudders, mood shifting back to calm. "And, of course, the brainless volunteers to the cause. I believe you've met them already."

His eyes linger on the still healing wounds that Kakashi's ripped flak jacket cannot hide.

"You didn't answer the question," Sasuke points out.

Jikken giggles.

"How do you kill the unkillable?" he queries in a sing-song, that has the hair on the back of Naruto's beck stand on end. "How to stop a creature that can _no longer_ die? Hm?"

"Find a time when he could," Kakashi guesses, eyes widening in realisation. "You're trying to go back in time to before the Snake Sannin had mastered his ability to shed his body at will."

"A child. A helpless, weak child," Jikken hums happily. "Apropos, no? Go far enough back, there will be no resistance. Long before all _he_ touched turned to rot and poison."

"But you reached into the future," Konohamaru says. "You're not from our time, you'd have recognized the Kote right away if you were. Oro—" Jikken growls, and Konohamaru quickly catches himself. "I mean, the Sannin, wouldn't be an easy opponent these days."

"Miscalculations, missteps—acceptable in the pursuit of the greater good," the white-faced man says flatly. "Once perfected, the goddess will open the door to the correct time and _he_ will be nothing but a dream for the universe."

The assembled Konoha shinobi exchange glances, each of them showing different degrees of conflict.

Considering what Orochimaru has done, Naruto can't exactly fault their opponent for his plan. They're talking about the man that killed the Third Hokage, infected Naruto's best friend with a dangerous curse seal and tried to blackmail Granny Tsunade using her dead brother and lover as collateral. There's no way the man is what you would call an innocent target.

But still, the lengths to which this Jikken guy has gone to, with his mysterious (and creepy sounding) "goddess", are way too dangerous. He's done all of this without a care to the people he might be harming, or the fact that he might tear apart reality.

 _My life occasionally sucks, but it's still mine, and a better option than whatever might happen if this guy manages to pull off his little vendetta…_

Sasuke, too, is torn upon hearing Jikken's motives.

On the one hand, he hates Orochimaru for placing the curse seal upon him—granting him an opportunity to touch power, but without truly wielding it. Despite giving him more potential, he is dependent and limited, two feelings he dislikes more than any other. On the other hand, to have someone as powerful as Orochimaru be destroyed, when he still might have information the village might benefit from?

Or rather, information Sasuke might benefit from to become more powerful and defeat Itachi.

Kakashi is wary.

There is a certain unscrupulous logic to what Jikken is proposing, but it's a dangerous and mad plan, including far too many factors and producing even more unknown outcomes. After so many years away from the village, Orochimaru has suddenly appeared in Konoha several times in the past few months, suggesting the village's future might involve him. Based on the behaviour of Konohamaru and his team, it might be even more than Kakashi himself can imagine.

 _Destroying him before he grows up to become a threat might be potentially more problematic than Jikken thinks._

Konohamaru is on the same page as him.

"As much as the old snake scares the crap out of me, you can't kill him," he tells the pale man within the wards. "The legendary Sannin are an integral part of our heritage. And Orochi—I mean, the Snake Sannin, his relationship with the village is complicated. There are matters he's part of-important battles and trials—and a just a bunch of stuff, hey? If it weren't for him, there's, uh, certain people who would destroy the village instead of saving it! So him dying now, that would change everything!"

Kakashi is likely the only one to notice the way Konohamaru's eye flit to Sasuke, and he feels something in his stomach drop. From the sound of it, his student's future is not going to be an easy one. It's less of a surprise to him, however, than the news that Orochimaru will still be alive in the future.

"That's not certain!" Jikken snaps. "The world existed before _him_ , yes it did! People will survive, soldier on—think how many who he killed might be equally, if not more able to help? Equal and opposite reactions, when one doors is closed, another opens, such is the way of the universe!"

"And so to get this perfect universe of yours without this Snake Man, you hurt everyone in your path?" Boruto interrupts with a shout. "That's bull! How about instead of us trying to defend one nutcase from another, you tell us what taking Mitsuki has to do with your crazy scheme? Cuz I don't care about your childhood trauma, I care about my friend! And he's not your Snake Guy, so if you hurt him—"

"Of course he is not him," Jikken rolls his eyes. "Upon further experimentation, that was clear."

"Experimentation?" Boruto repeats, his entire body going stiff. "I thought you said you didn't hurt him?"

"No long-lasting physical damage was sustained by the juvenile," Jikken confirms. "As I said before, it would be counterproductive." His smiles, eyes wild with mad glee. "The key, you see? The blood is the key! Unexpected, but part of the plan. The goddess provides gifts. Only to the most patient, the most faithful. She saw that mistakes were being made—one foot then, another then, another now, another…" He shakes his head. "Throwing darts in the wind. One never knows where they'll end up. But blood calls to blood. Like to like, Like bait for a fish. The right amount and…" He sighs. "The path is set, the door will open, and _he_ will be brought through."

"And then you'll kill him," Sasuke finishes.

"Just so," Jikken says with a nod.

"I don't get it," Naruto mutters under his breath. "What does blood have to do with it?"

"It could have to do with blood types," Konohamaru replies quietly. "Some jutsu are entirely dependent on certain blood types."

"And you're saying Mitsuki has one of those?" Boruto challenges.

Jikken cocks his head to one side, ignoring the interchange. "Where are the others, do you think? The little girl with the pretty hair. Dead, perhaps?"

"Sakura's alive!" Naruto snaps.

"And Sarada," Boruto insists.

"Perhaps. Perhaps, but I don't think so," Jikken sings again. "Ah, well, so tragic. So young. But perhaps, for the best."

"Shut up," Sasuke growls.

"He will save their lives when he kills the snake—"

"Quiet," Kakashi says all of a sudden, and the harshness in his voice is surprises. Everyone stares at him in surprise.

"What is it, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asks.

"Rambling aside, he's talking too easily," Konohamaru interrupts. "Right?"

"Yes, there's that," Kakashi agrees. "And there's the fact that the shadow binding jutsu faded about three minutes ago." Everyone startles, noting that the jōnin is correct. Jikken is standing casually in the circle, untethered and looking utterly unbothered. "He noticed this before, but didn't try to escape again."

"Why should I?" Jikken wonders.

"You tried before," Naruto says.

"Of course I did, you all seemed so keen to keep me here." He lowers his voice. "They would have thought it was suspicious, if he didn't try to look like he was escaping. They have to stay. The goddess says they have to stay, and so he'll answer the questions. It's fun to watch their faces."

He giggles again.

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	22. Chapter Nineteen

Kakashi clenches his fists, his entire body drawn taut.

There's more going on here than just keeping watch over a potential enemy, and they need to find out what it is. But getting information from this crazed, ghostly man is like trying to walk through an abstract painting.

Kakashi has all manner of experience getting people to talk. Interrogation techniques are basic training for jōnin and required for all ANBU. However, in this case, they would likely all be useless. Jikken is someone that has been tortured before; more than that, his entire existence was based on sheer horror from what Kakashi understands. He can likely hold out for hours without revealing a thing. They don't have hours.

Of course, the other option is trying to puzzle out the information they want on their own and using what they know of Jikken to discover how close they are to the truth.

Kakashi reflects on his allies at the moment: himself, two prodigies and two knuckleheads that always manage to stumble on the right answer somehow.

 _Well, if figuring it out ourselves doesn't work, there's no choice but to resort to more intense interrogation techniques…_

"Staying here doing nothing isn't an option, so we need to get to the bottom of the time phenomena," Kakashi announces.

"What do you think we've been trying to do?" Sasuke grumbles.

"Not like this. Now it counts," Kakashi says. "Here's what we know: the time bubble is covering an area of at least three kilometres at last check, and growing. Something's causing it, but we don't know what and he's not going to tell us. Probably the 'goddess' he was talking about. Likely another experiment. Maybe even one with a curse seal, that did something to her abilities the way Mumyōi's made him stronger."

"Obviously all of this is related to his assassination plans," Konohamaru adds.

"And he doesn't necessarily have to be there—wherever there is—for it to keep happening. Again, probably the 'goddess'."

"And maybe she's something that can be stopped," Sasuke adds, "because he said the…goddess, or whatever she is, says we have to be here. Maybe her ability is something we can interfere with?"

His eyes flit to Jikken who is observing them all calmly, while Boruto's shadow clones continue to bracket him on all sides. Without a formal order to stand down, the teleporter is still their prisoner.

Even if, at the moment, that doesn't feel like the case.

"So, the longer we're here, the better for him?" Naruto ponders, obviously trying to keep up with the deductions his friends are exchanging.

"All of us?" Boruto asks.

Everyone stares at him.

"What do you mean?" Konohamaru asks.

"Well, he doesn't seem to really care about people he has no use for," Boruto explains, glowering at Jikken, who is smiling now, almost as if this whole thing is entertaining. "He took Mitsuki for his plans, but he left you and me lying unconscious in a lab."

"If he really wanted us out of the way permanently he would have killed us or locked us in a cell or something, not tied us up with a rope," Konohamaru says, rubbing his chin in thought. "In fact—I think he forgot about us completely."

"You are immaterial," Jikken agrees conversationally.

"We were always going to escape, but he didn't care," Boruto continues. "And it's the same with Sarada. If she was a real threat to him, he would have made sure she was dead when he threw her off that cliff. It's like we're all just afterthoughts. But he just said he wants us here."

"But not all of us," Naruto suddenly understands. "He was talking to _us_. Me, Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei."

"Oh, listen to him, the loudmouth may have brains after all," the pale man whispers loudly to his ever-invisible inner audience.

"But why?" Naruto demands angrily. "Why do you care about us? We've never seen you before this."

"The door can't be opened properly. A strong wind blows it closed. There needs to be a stopper," Jikken tells him. "Something inconsistent, a tear in time, something out of place to keep it out of place."

Kakashi mentally parses that and offers, "A paradox."

"A paradox," Jikken sighs in delight. "He can't sustain it long enough to throw the line and the bait. Something must be taken out of place—some _one_. But the others weren't enough. Not important. Fleeting. Like goldfish. Never the right ones. But _you_ —"

His cold eyes settle on Kakashi and his students hungrily.

"You three, and the girl. Together, the wind _sang_. The door is open and there's no closing it."

"Because they're important," Konohamaru gasps, gaping at Kakashi in horrified realisation. "You four are important, in ways we can't completely tell you, but…but it's enough that if you disappeared all those years ago, everything would change."

"Not just change," Boruto says, his own face looking horrified. "Dad and Mom told me stories. If you guys get stuck here, the whole world might unravel."

Neither Sasuke nor Naruto know what to make of this, and even Kakashi is staggered by the absolute certainty in the younger Uzumaki's voice. Jikken is gentle rocking himself back and forth now, as if swaying to a beat only he can hear.

"And you walked straight into my web, little flies. With every second, the wind is stronger— the paradox larger—"

"And that's why you have no need to try to escape," Kakashi concludes flatly.

"Because you're going to let me go," Jikken agrees, clapping his hands together once in delight. "Oh, it's a dilemma I see. Can't kill him, he might be the only one who can stop the wind, yes? Might speak to his goddess, you think. But can't watch him. You have to run. Run, run, run. Far away. Seek the little girl, if she isn't already dead. Run for your lives and hope, even if it's too late."

And now the sound he makes his nowhere near the whimpering, whimsical giggle from before. The laughter that wracks his body brings tears to his eyes and looks physically painful.

As Jikken's mirth washes over them, the Konoha shinobi aren't completely sure how to react.

Kakashi watches Konohamaru, whose grim expression probably reflects his own as both the jōnin try to plot out their next move.

The irony of the situation is not lost on him, however unappealing it is. Kakashi's earlier attempts to keep Sarada from speaking of any future-changing information were utterly in vain. The danger to the timeline is not Team 7 learning anything that will personally affect their future lives, but their mere presence within the time bubble itself.

Team 7 is sustaining the paradox, and as Jikken pointed out, there's nothing they can do about it from in here.

 _The longer we stay here, the more likely it is reality will rip itself apart._

Kakashi's immediate choices are limited. Stopping Jikken permanently could potentially make things worse, if he is the only one with enough knowledge or clout to end the temporal phenomenon. Trying to watch over him here, in a ward he will likely eventually escape if he gets one lucky break, is a race against time itself. Shadow clones are not a deterrent forever, even if Naruto and Boruto switch off to conserve chakra.

Letting the crazed man go brings up another dilemma.

Either pursue him wherever he intends to enact his final plans and try to stop him, thereby keeping the paradox alive and constantly getting stronger, or make a run for it. Find Sakura, wherever she is, and get back to Konoha.

Assuming the time distortion hasn't made it that far already.

All of which leaves the problem of Jikken and his machinations on the conscious of the next generation. Konohamaru may be a jōnin, and Boruto a genius, but it's more uncertainty than Kakashi is comfortable with.

And yet…

"Boruto," Kakashi says, the words tasting bitter on his tongue, "stand down."

"What?" the blond boy demands, and his voice echoes in stereo with Naruto.

"Kakashi-sensei, you can't be serious!" his student gasps. "You can't just let this guy go, he's a nutjob!"

"Yes. But it doesn't change the fact he's right. We have to let him go."

"This isn't a good idea," Konohamaru says, but there's a resigned note there; he's come to the same conclusion as Kakashi even as he tries to argue against it. "Letting him go means opening us up to attack. He might teleport away, and then come after us again at any point. For that matter, if there is a paradox being caused by you being here, imagine what would happen if he killed you."

"All it would take is one person," Boruto says with a scowl. "And right now, Aunt Sakura's enough of a question mark as it is."

"Normally, I'd agree," Kakashi says, tilting his head back to Jikken before addressing him, "but you don't really have the energy for it, do you? It's not just our role in the paradox that has kept you from escaping, it's that right now, you don't have enough chakra. It's one thing to blindside the unexpecting—even a jōnin, if they're unfamiliar with your techniques. But when there are two, who have seen you in action and one of them has a Sharingan? That will be harder." He narrows his eyes. "You could fight us, right now, but we're more than a match for you. Your odds aren't good, and you know it."

"I might still kill one of you," Jikken volunteers conversationally. "That would be enough to sustain the paradox."

"Even if you did, we'd come after you," Naruto declares. "You hurt one of my comrades and I'll kill you."

"And if you die," Sasuke says quietly, taking a step forward, "then you wouldn't get your revenge. Which I think you want more than anything right now. Even trying to take one of us out."

"You wouldn't be able to stop us from dealing with your goddess when we go after her, either," Boruto adds.

"You can't harm her! She's invincible!" the pale man snaps.

"So is this Orochimaru guy, but you've come up with a way around that, haven't you?"

Jikken's face twitches angrily at the name, but for a wonder, he does nothing more than clench his fists tightly.

"Looks like it isn't just us that need to make a decision," Kakashi remarks with false lightness in his words.

Again, tense silence fills the ruined cavern, as each party waits to see what the enemy will decide.

Eventually, Jikken lowers his head.

"Mutually assured destruction," the pale man mutters. "It doesn't matter. Even if they leave now, there is no chance to escape before the goddess opens the door. The terms of truce are accepted."

"If I see you even twitch at any of my people, your life is forfeit," Kakashi warns him. Jikken nods once in acceptance. It's as good as their going to get. "Alright. Let him go."

He nods at Boruto, who dispels his jutsu. His clones stand down, and with slow, careful steps Jikken moves out of the warded circle. He is always careful to keep his eyes on the Konoha shinobi, while they in turn close ranks to ensure no one leave their backs vulnerable.

They might have just agreed on a wary truce, but to suggest they trust him is going too far.

With a final frustrated, hateful look, he disappears.

"Let's move," Kakashi orders almost immediately, indicating for everyone to head for the only remaining tunnel out of the cavern. "I think it will be more difficult to find his way back to us if he doesn't know where we are."

"Which wouldn't be a problem if you hadn't let him go," Naruto grumbles.

"That _isn't_ the problem right now."

"What the hell are you talking about? We don't even know where he went!"

"I know where he went."

"Wait—what?"

"Remember what I said earlier? I told you I left a chakra trace on him. Those a permanent. I know exactly where he's going."

"Wah! Then why the hell didn't you say so earlier?!"

"Because revealing your plans to the enemy is stupid?" Sasuke suggests. "Did you pay attention in any class at the Academy?"

"Not everything in life is about what you learn at the Academy, asshole."

"This was."

"All this still doesn't leave us with a definite location," Konohamaru protests. "Maybe he already knows about the trace. Or maybe he might figure it out and lead you in a different direction completely from where you want to go."

"Maybe not me," Kakashi corrects, giving the younger (older) man a significant look.

"Meaning?" Boruto prompts.

"Meaning it's not Kakashi who's going to track this guy down," Konohamaru says. "It's going to be my team. And you guys are going to head back to where you came from. Or rather, _when_ you came from."

Naruto's face turns red with anger. "Are you kidding me? That's the stupidest plan ever!"

"It's logical," Sasuke allows, although his frown suggests he isn't any more pleased with the notion than Naruto is. "Once we get out of these tunnels and get our bearings, Kakashi can figure out where Jikken went. Then we split up. You guys take him out, we get out of this time bubble."

"Even allowing for unknown factors, it's probably the best option," Boruto concedes.

"It's still completely stupid! You're just two people!" Naruto cries.

"Mitsuki's already there. Once we save him, I bet he'll want to kick this guy's ass for whatever he's got planned!"

"If he hasn't been turned into body parts!" Naruto rages. "And what about Sarada! You still have to find out where she is!"

"Mitsuki is fine! He has to be, and Sarada…she's…I bet she's with Aunt Sakura," Boruto says, though his uncertainty is evident.

"And Konohamaru? He's been poisoned and looking worse every second."

"Thanks, Boss," the jōnin says dryly.

"Well…well it's what we've got!" Boruto snaps. "And who knows, maybe Dad and Uncle Sasuke are already on their way here! Maybe they'll beat us there!"

"It's still a huge risk!"

"And it's part of the job not to make decisions based on personal feelings," Sasuke interjects.

"Are you seriously going along with this?" Naruto demands, rounding on his teammate.

"We both know Sakura. And I assume it's the same for Sarada," the Uchiha boy says with forced neutrality. "If they heard us arguing about letting the world get destroyed or going after them, what do you think they'd say?"

"Sarada would punch me," Boruto mumbles.

Naruto is still unimpressed. "It still boils down to us leaving behind our comrades, something I swore I'd never do!"

The unrelenting expressions on both Naruto and Sasuke's face make Kakashi's heart ache; this is the exact same argument he had with Obito the day his friend died. He's always seen the parallels between himself and Sasuke, but watching it unfold once more is not just eerie—it's painful.

But Sasuke, instead of maintaining his aloof façade, suddenly snaps.

"It's not just comrades I'm leaving behind!" he snarls. "They're going to be my family, and if we don't save everything else, then there's no point! If I'm the powerful shinobi that everyone says I will be in the future, then I know that my future self is also probably on the way to stop whatever's going on right now. Especially if that damned toad brat got through. And if I'm on my way, you're probably stumbling along after me, ten times as annoying as usual and bitching about your idiot kid being in trouble!"

"Watch who you're calling "idiot"!" Boruto snaps.

"So yes," Sasuke says, calming a little, "I say we find Sakura and get the hell out of here, so that these morons can go save the world and trust that our future selves will find Sarada! Because she's _not_ dead!"

"How is it he can feel confidence in us yet insult us in the same breath?" Konohamaru complains.

Naruto, however, simply pouts and crosses his arms. His anger dissipates as quickly as it built.

"I wouldn't be stumbling…" he mumbles, sulking a little.

But he gives in.

Kakashi's apprehension lessens, replaced with pleasant surprise. It's very rare that Naruto gives in so easily, but then it's also rare for Sasuke to speak so passionately about something. Both boys obviously recognize the seriousness of their predicament, if they can put their personal foibles aside in the heat of the moment.

Especially over so unpleasant a matter.

This decision goes against what Kakashi himself believes—a hard won lesson—but Sasuke is right. If Sakura knew they were even discussing this, she would never forgive them. And from what he's learned of Sarada in her short time with them, she would be just as insistent.

Neither girl wants to be a burden or hold their teammates back, and a decision to sacrifice everything else for their well-being would be just that.

The Konoha shinobi all consider each other, as if trying to make sure that everyone is on the same page; it's a decision that has to be unanimous, despite the general reluctance. It's a hard decision to discuss sacrificing a teammate – possibly two, if they don't act swiftly.

"Alright," Kakashi says. "Let's get out of these tunnels and get to work."

"How exactly are we supposed to do that?" Boruto wants to know. "You guys have been trying for ages, and Konohamaru-sensei and I couldn't find a way out."

"We'll just have to fast-track the search," Naruto says, resigned and still not entirely in agreement with their plan. Still, he forms the hand signs for his multi shadow clone jutsu. "I can search ahead of us while we walk. And if there is no exit, well, we'll just have to make one!"

There's a puff of smoke and then the cavern is filled with dozens upon dozens of Naruto's doppelgangers.

It's not the first time Kakashi has seen Naruto create an army of himself, but it never fails to impress. Sasuke on the other hand—

"You couldn't do this before?" he mutters as several of the clones charge ahead into the tunnels.

"Hey, shut up! We were busy dealing with your family drama!"

"And I'll say it again, there's something wrong with your priorities!"

 _So much for getting along…_

"Are they still like this?" Kakashi asks Konohamaru, as they watch the two genin yell at each other, while Boruto's head moves from side to side as if he's watching a tennis match.

"Well…" Konohamaru begins, looking uncomfortable.

ナルト

"And—PUSH!"

There's a loud chorus of shouting and cursing, and the wave of orange clad bodies surges forward, throwing their weight against a deceptively old, decrepit looking door. Meanwhile, the rest of the Konoha shinobi stand back and watch Naruto's dogged assault. Sasuke is reluctant to acknowledge it, but the dead weight's ability to check out several possible exits at once has significantly cut down the time spent wandering aimlessly.

There's a splintering sound, and then there's a rush of clean smelling air from somewhere near the front of the queue of Narutos.

"We're through!" one of them yells, and there are several cheers before all the doppelgangers disappear.

"Nice one, boss," Konohamaru compliments as they all hurry out of the tunnel and into the moonlit night. The exit is overgrown, covered in dirt and moss and hidden in the overhang of several stones.

"Careful Big Bro, your hero-worship is showing," Boruto disdains, but it's with more teasing approval than malice.

"Hey, don't pretend you're not happy to be out of there," Konohamaru replies, not taking his student's criticism to heart. Evidentially, it's regular behaviour for them. Even so, Sasuke must admit the future jōnin has a point. The underground base was claustrophobic, and if he never sees another tunnel in his life, it will be too soon. "And you're supposed to call me 'sensei'!"

"I don't think I've ever been so happy to see my dad's shadow clones."

"Why wouldn't you be happy to see my shadow clones?" Naruto demands. "I probably taught _you_ how to make shadow clones. A little respect for an artist!"

Boruto's response is cut off by an unexpected rumble of the ground. Everyone glances up to see Kakashi, his hand still bent to shape the _Ox_ and _Tiger_ symbols. A wall of earth rises up and blocks the hidden exit.

"No sense in leaving it open," he says as the dust settles. "There could be others like Mumyōi who survived. We'll send someone to investigate it once this is all over."

 _Assuming we survive…_

"And on that note," Konohamaru agrees, "We've got to get a move on. Let's figure out where we are. Then you tell us what direction Jikken went in."

Kakashi nods and digs into his pack, removing the map he and his team used at the beginning of their mission.

 _It feels like it was months ago instead of barely a day_.

The chart itself is a little worse for the wear, ripped in some places where blade claws nicked it, and stained with his blood in others. But it's still legible, at least to him and Sasuke. Kakashi places it flat against the floor, while Konohamaru holds a glow stick overhead so everyone can see.

The chakra signature flickers in his head every so often, probably whenever Jikken makes a jump, but it seems to be doggedly heading in the same direction. Glancing at the stars, and making a few quick calculations, Kakashi points to a spot near the edge of the circumference he drew earlier. "This is where we are and this—"

"Wait, how do you know?" Naruto asks.

Kakashi frowns at him.

"Didn't they teach you to use stars to find your position back at the Academy?" The boy shakes his head, and even Konohamaru and Boruto appear confused. "Sasuke?"

"…my brother," the kid murmurs, looking as if he would rather swallow a razor blade than admit that.

Kakashi sighs. "In my day, they taught kids a lot more at the Academy. You guys really are rookies…"

"Yeah, well, anyone that says, 'in my day' is old and needs to retire!" Naruto shoots back.

Kakashi doesn't dignify that with a response, instead trailing his finger down the map in a north-easterly path. "This is where Jikken is headed."

"Then that's where we're headed," Konohamaru declares, straightening up.

"Wait, hold on! Bad idea!" Naruto protests.

"He's right," Sasuke says, earning surprised glances from his teammates. "You should at least wait until the chakra signature stays in one place for a while before taking off. Then Kakashi will be able to have a more accurate read."

"Yeah, the guy could totally change directions once you guys go looking for him!"

"We don't have the luxury of time," Kakashi reminds them. "Jikken could start initiating the final stage of whatever he intends to do the minute he arrives. Then, we'll be wasting out time waiting for him to settle in, when we could be getting out of here. And while Konohamaru and his team could be stopping him."

"He's faster than we are, remember?" Boruto adds.

Naruto scowls and crosses his arms. "I still say it's a stupid idea to split up, no matter what that ghost guy says about it. There's nothing but forest out that way."

"Just like there was nothing but forest around here until Sarada showed us to Orochimaru's base," Sasuke interjects flatly. "For all we know, there could be another one, hidden by more genjutsu wards. You might not necessarily be able to see those without a Sharingan."

"Geez, Sasuke for once would you back me up on someth—oh. Wait. You are, aren't you?" Naruto stops himself mid yell, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Shocking, isn't it?" his teammate counters dryly. He addresses Konohamaru and Boruto. "We want to get going as soon as possible too, but it's stupid to base our decisions on guesswork only. There has to be something more concrete."

"I have a feeling that's not really an option anymore," Kakashi says with forced levity. Everyone turns to him. "Has anyone else noticed how quiet it is around here?"

They all go silent, and for the first time Sasuke notices that there is utter silence in the forest. Even the ever-present sound of crickets is gone.

"Animals have been known to predict natural disasters," he notes quietly. "They'll flee an area that's about to be devastated by an earthquake or a tsunami."

"Hey, what's that?" Naruto asks, pointing at something in the distance.

A few hundred metres away, something bright as begun to peek through the trees. It's unexpected in the dense forest, and so without exchanging words, the Konoha shinobi take off to investigate. Creeping slowly forward, in case it's the enemy or some other danger, the five of them fan out to surround whatever is causing the light.

Kakashi is the first to step through the trees to investigate, and when he does, he realises he expected anything but this.

Several feet away from him, a large tree appears to have been bisected by a mirror or a window. Whatever it is, it's not solid, nor is it stationary. The air around it seems to be moving, almost like a pair of lungs inhaling.

The window itself, opens into a completely other world.

Hot, humid air blasts from inside, turning to steam in the coolness of the night where Kakashi and the others stand. In the distance, the mountains and hills that are now covered in forests, instead rumble and spout lava. There are sounds from inside the portal, made by creatures Kakashi knows he's never heard in his life.

"What the hell is going on?" Sasuke asks, the bright, scorching sun from the other world reflecting in his eyes.

"No idea," Boruto says.

"I think it's the past," Naruto says, earning surprised glances from everyone else. Noticing the attention on him, he complains, "Hey, I can say smart stuff too!"

"No, you can't," Sasuke and Boruto chorus, and then exchange bemused glances. Boruto looks ridiculously pleased, while Sasuke is mildly disturbed.

"Why do you think it's the past?" Kakashi asks, carefully avoiding another argument.

"Sakura said before that this place used to have volcanoes. And unlike _someone_ , I listen when she talks."

" _Tch_."

"So, what, you think that's, like, ancient Konoha?" Boruto wants to know. "That's messed up."

"This whole day is messed up…"

"Hey, look! There's another one," Naruto notices, and begins to wander off to investigate another of the strange windows. This one casts eerie silver light from it, brighter than the moonlight above them. It's almost like sun-glare on snow, but without the warmth.

This time, the vista looks utterly identical to the world that Naruto and his team stand in. Except for one thing.

Gargantuan, tentacle-like tree roots split through the ground, towering high into the sky. Although they have no branches, there is a texture to them that doesn't make sense. Thousands of growths, almost like cocoons, hang from the bark. High above all of these, the moon gleams with an unnatural glow, more like sunlight, and Naruto imagines that in the centre he can see…is that a Sharingan?

The longer he stares into that world, the more his mind begins to go blank.

In the back of his head, the fox is snarling at him, and it feels like he's trying to throw himself against the locked cage inside of Naruto.

On the other side of the window, the ground begins to rumble, and a root shoots up through the earth. It heads for Naruto, but as his awareness fades he can think of no reason to move.

There's a flickering image, like a dream, that begins to take over Naruto's awareness, and a heaviness fills him like sleep.

"Naruto!" someone yells, but it's coming from inside him and not from his teammates. He imagines serious blue eyes and the rippling sound of cloth in the wind.

"Get him out of there!"

"Close it! And don't look!"

"You idiot!" someone yells, and then something hard and solid ploughs into Naruto's jaw, the force of it throwing him away from the beguiling window.

Immediately his wits return to him, just in time to watch Sasuke, eyes clenched tight, duck a kunai that Kakashi throws at the portal. The minute the weapon crosses the portal, it ripples out of existence, the strange light and creepy roots disappearing as well.

"Nice job, dead last," Sasuke disparages. "You almost became plant food."

"Yeah, well…you're plant food," Naruto retorts lamely. He really, really hates having to be saved by Sasuke…

His teammate turns to the others and demands, "What the hell was that?"

"Trust me, you don't want to know," Konohamaru replies darkly, and it's the grimmest anyone can remember seeing him. He looks utterly haunted.

"Something from your past, I take it?" Kakashi suggests.

"And your future."

"Is that the thing you were worried about before? When Jikken mentioned a goddess?"

But Konohamaru doesn't answer beyond his lips thinning.

 _Something really bad then. I'm sort of glad I don't need to know just yet…_

Out loud, Kakashi says, "It appears time is becoming more distorted. It's opening up on places beyond just these two eras that have converged."

"Then it's definitely time to go," Konohamaru insists. "We can't afford to wait on certainty."

Kakashi nods in agreement. Sometimes, there's no such thing in this line of work.

Konohamaru turns to Naruto and offers him a grin; it's only slightly tense, considering the circumstances. "Well, it was great seeing you again, Boss. It's nice to see you when you're not so busy. And count on me, hey? We're going to beat this thing! As your Number One Apprentice, I promise you that!"

"And I'll make sure he doesn't get himself killed doing something stupid," Boruto adds.

The jōnin sniffs at that, and addresses Kakashi. "It's good to see you too, Lord Sixth."

"You really don't have to call me that," Kakashi replies, offering him his hand.

Konohamaru takes it and gives it a firm shake. Then, he presses his pack into Kakashi's hand. "Here. All of the extra healing supplies we have. You guys need it more than we do, and if this fight is going to be as intense as I think it is, we won't have time to benefit. And if you run into Sarada—"

"When," Boruto and Sasuke chorus. This time the look they exchange is of shared, stubborn confidence.

"When," Konohamaru corrects himself. "When you run into her, give her everything she'll need to keep going. And take her with you to the edge of the bubble."

"Yeah, don't send her after us," Boruto says. "She'll try to help, and she's hurt. If she gets killed, Uncle Sasuke will set me on fire."

"That's the least he'll do," Konohamaru agrees darkly. He nods at Naruto and Sasuke. "Watch out for yourselves. And don't look into those portals. You never know what you're going to see, or what might jump out and kill you."

"Avoid the death windows, got it," Naruto says, wincing as he rubs the growing bruise on his jaw.

He turns his attention to Boruto—his future kid—and tries to think up something clever to say. This is goodbye before they even really had a chance to talk, and he doesn't know if he's sad about it or kind of relieved.

"So you guys are actually going to do this?" he asks, and winces at how lame it sounds.

"No choice. Gotta save the world," Boruto says. "It's kind of the family business, if you know what I mean."

He smirks and holds out his fist. Naruto blinks, then grins.

"Not even a little," he answers, tapping his knuckles against the other boy's.

Boruto looks like he's considering attempting the same type of farewell with Sasuke but thinks better of it. Instead, says, "Hey, Uncle Sasuke, don't worry about Sarada. She beat up an army of clones once and won her first match in the Exams in under three seconds. She's tough, and if it wasn't for me, she'd already be a chūnin."

Sasuke nods once, the words having a surprising comforting effect.

"As expected from an Uchiha," he says stiffly.

"You're so lame," Naruto tells him, and then stage whispers to everyone else, "He's totally proud of her, he just can't admit it because he has a giant stick up his—"

"You two should go," Kakashi says. "Good luck."

"Luck's got nothing to do with it, I run on skill only," Konohamaru boasts. No one remarks on the false note in his bravado. With final looks exchanged all around, Boruto and Konohamaru disappear into the shadows of the forest.

"Right," Kakashi says, nodding down at the map. "The shortest distance between here and the edge of the time-bubble is due north. We'll head that way."

"No."

Kakashi and Naruto look up at Sasuke in surprise.

"According to the map, there's a river heading south. We should follow that."

"We can't do that. It will take us the longest amount of time to get out."

"It's also the only river that has it's origin around here. Maybe it came from underground," Sasuke reasons. "If we're lucky, the girls ended up that way."

"We can find Sakura and Sarada," Naruto realises.

Before Kakashi can provide a logical argument against it, or even attempt to overrule, Sasuke continues, "There's no point to us leaving this place if Sakura isn't with us. Last time I checked, she's part of the potential paradox we're causing. If we left now and she's not out with us, we might as well just go back to fight alongside Konohamaru and Boruto."

"Which is still an option," Naruto pipes up hopefully.

Kakashi is silent a spell, studying each of his students in turn before sighing. Neither option is the wisest one, but he knows which one his heart is telling him to go for.

"Fine," he agrees, cracking another glow stick for their journey. "But we move fast. And cursory search only. We don't have the option of more."

"Right."

Kakashi rolls up the map, and the three of them set off in unison.

"Watch out for those portals," he reminds them, taking the lead while Naruto and Sasuke flank him.

They travel in silence for several minutes before Naruto is tempted to break it. Something has been nagging at him since back at the cave, he's just never had a chance to bring it up.

"Hey, Sasuke…"

"What?"

"I was just thinking. Boruto's kind of protective, you know?"

"…"

"Do you think our kids—?"

"Finish that sentence and I will shove my fist down your throat."

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	23. Chapter Twenty

Sakura remains silent as she watches Sarada determinedly etch a map into the dirt from memory. At least, that's what she assumes the girl is doing, because she can't exactly see it. With moonlight as their only source of light, she has enough trouble making out the other's girl's profile, let alone the rough drawing in the dirt.

All the while, she tries to ignore the mounting sense of apprehension.

Sakura wishes she was used to all this by now. The life she has chosen is not one for the faint of heart. Even in the few months since graduating from the Academy, she's experienced more than a few instances of genuine terror and danger.

S-Class criminals, giant snakes and even a demon.

This feels different.

It isn't just the fact that she and Sarada are essentially planning to go up against a strong, deadly opponent who wields time travel and possibly the ability to end the world. In fact, that bit is still so extraordinary to Sakura that her brain hasn't even properly registered it yet. And even the idea of trying anything without the benefit of her teammate backing her up isn't as nausea-inducing as she expected. She's been on her own in more situations than she likes to admit—

 _Protecting the guys when they were unconscious in the Forest of Death, kidnapped by bandits that time with the monkey idol, none of them ever telling me_ anything _until it's over…_

She clenches her fists at that last one.

But right now, she is about to embark on something insane. Something on par with the crazy, half-suicidal stunts Naruto always magically manages to pull off. And on the only thing she has to rely on are her wits and her badly-injured future daughter.

 _A badly-injured future daughter who could wink out of existence if I do something wrong or get myself killed._

She swallows.

 _No pressure?_

"Alright, that looks about right," Sarada says, sitting back on her heels and frowning down at the dirt sketch. She indicates several places in front of her. "These are the coordinates my team and I mapped out, anyway."

"If you say so," Sakura says, because it all looks pretty much like more dark to her.

"Well, it's not _exact_ , obviously, the thing is growing, but based on the coordinates I remember from before and the position of the stars where we are now—"

"No, that I get. I just can't see."

"Oh." Sarada glances down again and then lets out a sheepish chuckle. "Sorry. Forgot. My team and I don't do a lot of night missions. And the last one, the science ninja gave us experimental night-vision goggles, so…"

Sakura raises an eyebrow, not even bothering to ask.

"Anyway," Sarada says, refocussing on her map. "By the best calculations we have, the epicentre of the time-bubble is about a kilometre north-west of here. That's where Teisōko must be holed up."

"Do you think it's another underground base?"

"Who knows?" Sarada replies. "We'll have to scope it out once we get closer. Come on—"

"Wait!"

Sarada pauses and glances at Sakura in surprise.

"Are you sure— _absolutely sure—_ that you want to do this?" Sakura questions. "We're talking about facing an insane woman that can travel in time. And if she's an Uchiha, like you said…" She trails off and shifts uncomfortably, trying to tamp down the mounting panic and healthy dose of fear. "Running into Sasuke's big brother was scary enough. And the only reason either of us are alive right now is…actually…I'm not entirely sure why we're still alive. But this Teisōko person probably isn't going to be as merciful—as merciful as mass-murdering criminals can be anyway. And if she's the one doing all this…"

"No, I'm not sure about this at all," Sarada admits after a breath. "But if you have any other ideas, I'm all ears." There's an expectant pause, and Sakura slumps her shoulders. "Exactly."

"Don't give me attitude," Sakura grumbles, earning a light chuckle from Sarada. A moment later, Sarada's good hand appears in front of Sakura.

"You can't see in the dark, right?"

After a beat, she accepts it, noting that the other girls fingers are trembling slightly.

 _Not as confident as she pretends to be. Good to know I'm not the only one freaking out!_

She offers a somewhat delayed squeeze to assure her that she's on board with whatever the plan is. Whichever way the day ends, they are in this together, and at the moment, they are all each other have.

The girls set off, with Sarada leading them in the direction it appears the epicentre of the phenomenon is located.

As they flit through the trees and across rough forest terrain, Sakura remains uneasy.

Every shadow in the corner of her eye, she imagines to be an enemy. Or Itachi Uchiha, awake once more and deciding to take them out after all. Or worse, whatever mysterious watcher Sarada said even the infamous S-ranked criminal was wary of. If she hadn't witnessed Kakashi lock away the crazed ghost man, she would be expecting him to pop up as they run. She wonders what the key to defeating him is, and what will happen once Kakashi releases him.

 _Nothing good, I bet…_

Considering the guy's tendency to show up right before things get weird, throwing people off cliffs and releasing an army of crazed human experiments, it occurs to Sakura that he is more involved in this time phenomenon than previously thought.

 _If he's as insane as I think he is, and if he's got one of Orochimaru's curse seals he probably is, what if this Uchiha woman is just as crazy?_

The conclusion presents itself immediately in her head.

Then, they really are embarking on a suicide mission.

 _Maybe I should knock Sarada out and get us both to safety now._

The thought has been fluttering away on the edges of her mind since discovering the girl's identity, but she hasn't let herself think it. Somehow, the darkness of the forest and the futility of the task ahead suddenly make it seem like the best plan.

If the world is going to end, she can at least spend her last moments keeping Sarada safe. She may never see Sasuke again, but this girl is a part of him. A part of Sakura, too. She represents all their dreams, and the idea of watching her die makes Sakura's insides twist. But so does the idea of taking a swing at her right now, taking her out when she's not expecting it. Even if doing so were to protect her, Sakura knows that the girl wouldn't forgive her.

Fighting is Sarada's choice. Sakura would be a poor mother—a piece of crap human being, really—if she took away her child's ability to choose her destiny. And really, none of them are children anymore. Not since tying the symbol of their village around their foreheads.

 _No, we have to see this through. No matter what._

"Hey, hold on," Sarada says, interrupting Sakura's thoughts and slowing their pace to a walk. "Do you see that?"

Sakura opens her mouth to reply that, of course she can't see, it's _dark –_

Except she can.

In the clearing of trees in front of them, hazy, warm light appears to emanate from nowhere in particular. Something like a mirror or a glass, only incorporeal, hangs suspended in midair. Whole chunks of the surrounding world waver, as if they are caught in a heat mirage. That's unlikely considering the cool dampness of the night.

"Look, there are more," Sarada says, pointing into the distance. Sakura has to squint this time, but it's not because of the darkness. The strange ellipsis of light is just very far away.

She turns on the spot, looking around to see if there are others. She is dismayed to find at least half a dozen more spread across the area.

"What's going on?'

Sarada casts her gaze about as well, squinting in the distance. "No idea. But the air or space wherever they're leading, or coming from, it looks weird. It's like what I noticed earlier, when Konohamaru-sensei and I were investigating. Anything outside of the phenomena looks grainy to me."

"So maybe those are windows to other dimensions or something."

"Probably. At any rate, I bet it'd be a bad idea of we cross into them. We'd probably end up in another world. Or worse." Sarada shudders at this. "Papa told me some of the places he's been before. None of them sound very safe."

"None of this is safe," Sakura says, peeking in the distance to one of the strange, portal windows that opens onto a distant sunset. "And I don't think it's a good sign that these things are popping up right now, either."

"I think the past and present are sharing space," Sarada muses. "But it didn't just happen. I think these things have been cropping up all over the phenomenon this whole time, and we didn't notice because they were spread apart. But I should have known…"

"Don't do that," Sakura orders, recognising the self-flagellating look that Sasuke sometimes wears when he thinks no one is watching. "Even if we weren't busy trying to stay alive, how could you have known?"

"It was when Papa—Sasuke—was fighting Mumyōi. He called him the "Uchiha brat"."

"So?"

"So, if you guys travelled to the past, Papa wouldn't be called that by anyone. Well. Except maybe the old Raikage." Sarada makes a face at that. "In my time, people don't call him anything so disrespectful. Even the people who hate him. He's always Sasuke Uchiha, or back home it's the Other Hokage." Sakura's eyebrows shoot up at this, and it takes all her effort not to ask. "If Mumyōi was calling him 'boy', then he's from this time. So, maybe you guys weren't the only ones to travel through time—"

"Which is entirely possible. I mean, we did run into an S-class criminal from my time," Sakura points out.

"I guess. But he actually came here to investigate, I don't think he was caught up in it. Mumyōi and that whole base…I mean, you remember the tools in the medical wing, right? All that dust? It was like people hadn't been there in decades. Maybe it was from my time, but the people inside it weren't? In any case, it means different times are bleeding into each other."

"And more it happens, the more fragile it becomes. Like cheesecloth," Sakura realises. "We have to—ahhh!"

It's a good thing they're paying at least a little attention, because when another time window suddenly opens, Sarada has enough time to yank Sakura out of its path. The move is hasty, however, and both girls need to find their footing again after stumbling back.

"That was close," Sarada says.

"I…think it was more than close," Sakura replies, staring up at the space they just occupied.

On the other side of the blurring portal, a man in heavy armour and a helmet towers over them. In the background of his world, a scarlet sky is clogged with trails of smoke. He holds a long, bloody sword in one hand, and drags a decapitated head by its long black hair.

Sakura hardly dares to breathe, hoping against hope that he can't see them.

That hope is dashed a moment later when his gaze falls upon Sarada.

" _Uchiha!"_ he snarls, dropping his bloody bounty and lunging forward. The portal disappears around him the moment he has stepped through.

Sakura isn't even aware that she's moving. One minute she's staring up at their latest attacker, and the next she somehow has Sarada's hand in hers and they running away at full speed.

The mysterious enemy follows them.

"What the hell is this?" Sarada cries, her words barely audible above the crash and clank of their pursuer's approach.

"The past, I think!" Sakura replies, her thoughts racing a mile a minute to analyse the new situation and come up with a way of reacting. "That armour is old. Decades, maybe more—and, he just attacked you for being an Uchiha, so…"

"No way! Senju warrior? Really? But that's from like a hundred years ago!"

"I'll be sure to tell him that while he cuts us down!" Sakura yells furiously, tugging on Sarada's wrist to make them veer sharply to the left. Hopefully with his extra armour, their follower will lose some of his speed, but she knows better than to bank on that. "What are we going to do? We fight him, we'd lose!"

 _He's a fully grown adult. Probably jōnin level, if they even had that sort of thing back then. I can't remember if they had—oh, who cares, we're about to die!_

"He's…he's after me, right?" Sarada pants.

"…Probably?" The sound of a blade slicing the air close by them, close enough that the tip brushes against the back of Sarada's borrowed shirt, making her squeak. "Definitely! Definitely after you!"

 _Protecting this girl is turning into a mission in and of itself! She's the most jeopardy-friendly kid I've ever met and I'm on a team with_ Naruto _!_

"Yeah…okay…I…I might have a plan…!"

"Is it a plan like throwing yourself off a cliff?" Sakura challenges as they duck low hanging tree branches and skirt around bushes that seem to appear out of nowhere. "Or bringing down the roof of a cave on our heads? Because I don't like those plans!"

Sarada doesn't answer directly, instead suddenly yelling, "Brace yourself!"

Then Sakura finds herself shoved to the side by the other girl and goes flying off to the side somewhere. The man from the portal doesn't even pause to acknowledge her, still going after Sarada's quickly disappearing form.

"What are you doing you little fool?!" Sakura screams, trying to stop the momentum of her fall and stand up at the same time. Her feet won't cooperate, and it takes longer than she'd like to get back to her feet. She feels like a giant bruise, and _if that little brat survives this, I will throttle her, Shannaro!_

The path ahead is brighter than the rest, and Sakura realises why a second later. It's another portal, this one leading to a brightly lit dawn. With this realisation comes understanding at what Sarada is about to do.

"No!" she screams, as Sarada runs directly toward the time portal that has just opened up. She shows no signs of stopping, and even if she wanted to, she couldn't, because the Senju warrior is barely a yard behind her. The only way to avoid the still swinging blade of his sword is to keep running, even if that puts Sarada into a completely different world. "Sarada!"

At that moment just before Sarada gets to the portal, the Senju warrior bellows out a triumphant call and brings his sword down toward her head—

Only for it to cut through the air as Sarada disappears.

The momentum of his body pulls him forward, into the portal, which ripples and disappears behind him.

Sakura's lungs constrict in confusion and dismay.

A hand lands on her shoulder and she screams, whirling around to find herself eye to eye with Sarada.

"How—what—how—?" she splutters.

"Three very good questions," Sarada answers, bent double as she gasps for breath. " _Shushin_. I cut it close, though. I had to, or he wouldn't have gone through the portal. I figured that's what was needed to close it: to disturb whatever's keeping it open. You saw the portal to his world disappear when he came through, right?"

Sakura gapes, parsing that, and then repeats, " _Shushin_."

"Yes."

"That's a D-rank technique."

"Yes?"

"You used a D-rank technique against a raging, homicidal Senju warrior?"

"Lord Sixth always says to keep it simple. And apparently Uncle Naruto once helped save the world using his stupid Sexy jutsu, so..."

Sakura opens her mouth, isn't quite sure how to react to that, and then decides not to question it. It's just another mark of how unbelievable this girl from the future is. Instead, she says, "How did you know that would work?"

"I didn't," Sarada says, and then winces, reaching behind her with her good hand. "And looks like it was close, too." She turns around, showing off a long slash across her back where the man's sword grazed her. The wound isn't deep, but it stains the remnants of the _uchiwa_ symbol.

"I don't get it. How are you not dead yet?" Sakura can't help wonder, tallying up all of the injuries she's seen Sarada take today. "I mean, even your—even Sasuke would have a hard time standing right now, but you're…you're making jokes."

"It's thanks to you, actually," Sarada says. "Future-You. My mother started teaching me to store my chakra, like she could. It's not exactly full self-healing like what she and Grandma Tsunade can do, but it increases muscular endurance and cell regeneration. If I hadn't started learning that…I'd have died when that ghost guy threw me off the cliff."

"Wow. I want to meet me," Sakura remarks blandly. Then she narrows her eyes at Sarada and shove her finger in her face. "If you don't start letting me in on your plans, you're grounded!"

"What? I've never been grounded in my life!"

"Yeah, well, you'd better damn well pray I don't remember this then," Sakura grumbles, squinting up at the sky. "Now come on, before I change my mind about knocking you out…"

Sarada lets out an undignified exclamation.

" _What?!_ That was a thing you had on your mind? _Why_ was that a thing you had on your mind?" Sarada cries. "What happened to trusting me enough to perform emergency surgery on Uncle Kakashi?"

 _That was before I realised what a pain in the ass I was going to have for a daughter!_

"Hey! Wait, you can't go anywhere without me! You can't see in the dark, remember?"

"With the luck we've been having, I could be blind and we'd probably end up stumbling into trouble," Sakura retorts.

It's depressing how true that sentiment is.

ナルト

The remaining members of Team 7 flit through the trees, keeping every sense open as they search for their missing comrades. Kakashi and Sasuke lead the way while Naruto brings up the rear.

At this point their priority isn't to worry about enemy shinobi possibly ambushing them, but unexpected portals popping up. The dangerous windows to other times appear to be manifesting all over. It's not exactly difficult to avoid them yet, but now that Kakashi is aware of them, it's harder to ignore.

From what they observed before, the portals close when objects pass through them. As such, if they ever pass near enough, all three of them will occasionally lob a pebble or tree branch into the opening, attempting to close them as they travel.

It's a stop-gap measure at best, because nothing but his team leaving the time bubble will completely end them, but it's something.

 _At least it makes the kids feel more useful…_

At one point, one of portals begins to form several yards in front of their advancing squad, and it's only a quickly thrown kunai from Kakashi that closes it before they head through that space.

He doesn't want to think about what would happen if he or the boys accidentally passed through one.

Kakashi hasn't been looking too closely into the portals, as Konohamaru warned; in fact, the minute he and his students see anything that appears to have that uncanny, silver light they veer away, making a long arc around it.

 _That's one secret to the future I can live without knowing in advance…_

Even so, not looking into the portals doesn't stop noises from filtering through the night. Most windows are silent and calm. Most likely, these open into times when this forest was still just forest. But sometimes there are other, more troubling resonances. Cries of animals he has never heard before mix with the shouts and screams of men dying in battle.

He's not sure which one makes him feel more uneasy.

That is, until his ears pick up the hum of skirmishing close by; the sounds are somewhat clearer and less distant than anything beyond the time windows. Kakashi raises his hand to indicate they should stop, tilting his head to one side.

"Is that happening here or somewhere else?" Naruto asks, landing beside him and Sasuke.

"I'm not sure," Kakashi admits, not wanting to completely discount it, but also not entirely keen to alter their present course. "Stay here, I'll check and then—"

 _"SHANNARO!"_

The achingly familiar yell is followed by a dull, shaking explosion that makes the tree he and the boys are standing on vibrate slightly.

Sasuke's eyes go wide. "That was Sarada."

Kakashi doesn't even have time to give a command or turn to his students. Sasuke and Naruto are already gone, headed in the direction of the familiar voice.

Although relieved at the confirmation Sarada is indeed alive, Kakashi can't help but be wary. That shout and the explosion probably mean she's in danger.

He puts on a burst of speed, managing to pull ahead of the boys and grabs them both before they throw themselves into some rash action, or accidentally through one of the time windows. Neither looks as if they are thinking rationally right now and jumping in at the wrong moment could be disastrous.

"Wait," he cautions slightly, keeping a firm hand on both boys, all the while squinting through the foliage to assess the situation.

The first thing he makes out—not unusual, considering her hair—is Sakura.

Kakashi lets out a breath of relief. He's been operating under the assumption she was alive, but it's nice to get confirmation.

What's odd, however, is the particular facet she currently presents. In fact, he would go so far as to say that might be the reason the boys are holding themselves back, rather than his own grip on their shoulders.

Sakura stands weaponless, but with arms raised in a guard position. Bruises and bloody scratches cross every bit of her exposed skin, and her tunic has been shredded, the frayed edges brushing the bottoms of her hips. Her eyes are hard and determined, an expression her team doesn't see very often, and her entire frame is poised to ward off an attack.

A trickle of blood runs from the corner of her lip, beneath the most recent looking, fist-shaped bruise.

Behind her, Sarada kneels on the ground, panting in exhaustion. Her previously uninjured arm is cradled across her knee, the wrist hanging at an odd angle. Judging from the crater several metres away from both girls, she tried to use her strength again, but without the proper amount of chakra to back it up, was unable to cushion herself from the impact,

Surrounding them are a squad of three black-clad figures; one facing the girls, while two others warily keep their eyes on their surroundings. A fourth lies twitching in pain on the ground, foot caught in the broken earth there. From the twist of his body, it looks like he was trapped and the bone is now broken. As he struggles to get to his feet, the moonlight catches the forehead protector on his brow.

"What the hell are Iwa shinobi doing here?" Sasuke hisses.

Kakashi doesn't have an answer right away, until he remembers a story from ten years earlier. A delegation from Iwa tried to get Konoha to pay reparations for a reconnaissance squad that simply vanished within the borders of the Land of Fire. No one ever found the bodies, and there were no mentions of the squad in any mission logs, and so rather than face warfare Lord Third simply acceded to the demands.

 _But they actually ended up here?_

The implications of that aren't good.

"Move, girl," the individual closest to Sakura—probably the leader—orders.

"No! I won't let you hurt her!"

"Ma—Sakura, get out of the way," Sarada commands through gritted teeth. "I'm fine…"

Sakura ignores her.

"Leave us alone!" she tells the Iwa shinobi. "We haven't done anything to you!"

The leader sneers. "We're not fools. It was daylight minutes ago, and now suddenly it's night? This is a genjutsu and _she_ has a Sharingan!"

"No!"

"Don't lie! I've faced her kind before, I know their talents."

"If it was genjutsu, you could dispel it!"

"No, I can't, which means it's stronger than the norm, and the only way to get out of something like that is to make the caster falter," he sneers, stepping carefully forward. "Which is what we're going to do, whether you move out of the way or not."

He raises a hand threateningly at Sakura. There's a sheen of blood on his knuckles, and Kakashi realises that this is the one responsible for the most recent injury to Sakura's face.

He's not the only one that makes that connection.

" _Taj_ _ū_ _Kage Bunshin_!" Naruto growls, while Sasuke's fingers fly, forming the familiar signs of the the _Katon H_ _ō_ _senka_.

Naruto's clones appear around the Iwanin, throwing themselves in between the girls and the enemy shinobi. As they immediately attack or try to dodge Naruto's clones, Sasuke flings several shuriken into the melee, concealing them in the flames of his jutsu. Using the chakra to control their trajectory, he sends a volley of flame and metal at the Iwanin.

He takes out two of them at the knees, while one of Naruto's clones lands a lucky blow on their leader. The real Naruto, and Sasuke, throw themselves into the fray.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cries in surprise and delight as the Uchiha boy lands in front of her and Sarada.

Kakashi can't help rolling his eyes here, _because, of course._

"Sakura, you and Sarada get down!" Sasuke orders, catching an incoming kunai with one of his own.

It won't be enough to take out the entire squad, however, especially if any of them are jōnin, and so Kakashi gets involved as well, moving rapidly. He weaves through clones, blades and fire, and grabs hold of the enemy in the instances where they try to recover. With quick, economical movements, he snaps their necks. He doesn't like to kill in front of his students, but right now there is no time to capture and interrogate a group of Iwanin from the past.

The flames dissipate, as do Naruto's clones, leaving only Team 7 and Sarada in the clearing.

Sakura eyes the bodies of their attackers for half a second, before glancing up at her teammates.

"You guys found us!" Sarada cries.

"Hey," Naruto greets, beaming at the girls. "Looks like we're the big damn heroes this time, huh, Sarada?"

"Took you long enough to find us, Uncle Naruto," she grins, then limps around Sakura to hug him, despite the strain it puts on her arm. Naruto turns pink. There's not many people in his life that voluntarily embrace him, not people he met barely a day before.

Sasuke scowls at this display, stepping cautiously toward her as well. Sarada watches him over Naruto's shoulder, and pulls away, eyes wide and beseeching. Sasuke finds himself considering Sarada uncertainly. He's not exactly sure if he should say something right then, or if she expects to hug him as well.

Before he can conquer his indecision, however, Sakura gives a half-laugh, half sob and throws herself forward.

"I'm _so_ glad to see you guys!" she cries in delight, grabbing both her teammates around their necks and pulling them into a close, somewhat painful hug.

"Sakura—"

"—you're choking us—"

"We thought you guys were dead!" Naruto says, gasping a little when she finally releases them both. Again, he is pleasantly surprised, and this time a little embarrassed, by the impromptu hug. Especially considering, well, it's Sakura. Even with the future set, he still cares a lot about her.

 _Besides, she smells nice. Why do girls always smell nice? Is it a rule or something?_

Beside him, Sasuke's face is tinged with more colour than usual and he avoids looking directly at Sakura. As if she's suddenly remembered herself, Sakura's eyes widen as well and backs up a few paces.

"Um…hi Sasuke," she squeaks, her face darkening as well. "I…um…look, I kept Sarada safe. See?"

 _Aside from the broken bones, of course._

From the magnitude of her discomfort, it's clear even without her saying a word: she knows who Sarada's mother is.

Sasuke shifts, at a loss of what to say, but eventually manages an awkward, "Yeah, uh…good job."

Whether the rare instance of praise is brought on by genuine emotion or simply not being sure how to acknowledge the truth, Sakura doesn't know. But she can't help the smile that breaks out on her face or imagining that Sasuke's gaze softens just a little.

For a moment, it feels like there's nothing in the world but her and Sasuke, and she wonders if this is what Sarada meant—

"Alright, alright," Naruto complains. "Enough with the eye-sex already, we have stuff to do."

The moment shatters.

Instantly Sasuke and Sakura put a good three metres of distance between each other, both their faces so red that even in the shadows of the moon and Kakashi's glowsticks they are visible.

"Uncle Naruto!" Sarada howls, sounding supremely disappointed and possibly grossed out. She aims a punch to his head, and both cry out in pain.

"What's the big idea?" Naruto complains, rubbing his head while Sarada cradles her knuckles.

"You're an idiot, is what," Sasuke grumbles.

"I'm glad you're alright. Both of you," Kakashi speaks up, unable to completely fight off the smile at the sight of not one, but both girls. It shouldn't surprise him that the protectiveness he feels for his female student has effortlessly extended to her daughter as well. "We couldn't be sure."

"Well, 'alright' might be a bit of a stretch," Sarada says, wincing.

"Ah, on that note," Kakashi says, bringing out the pack of healing aids Konohamaru left him. "These should help."

Sarada brightens at the sight.

"That's Konohamaru-sensei's! You mean he's alive?!" She looks around, trying to find a sign of him. "But where…?"

"Naruto and Sasuke can explain," Kakashi cuts her off. "We have to get moving. Sakura, help heal her as much as possible. As soon as I get back from disposing of these bodies, we're getting out of here."

"What do you mean, 'out of here'?" Sarada questions, while Sakura repeats, "'Dispose'?"

He nods, but doesn't answer, already hefting one of the corpses over his shoulder. He's seen a few portals to that strange volcanic world. History remembers these Iwanin disappearing, and who is he to argue with it?

"Where's Konohamaru-sensei?" Sarada repeats once the jōnin flash-steps away with the bodies. "And Boruto? He was there in the cave – I saw him, but he's not – he didn't –?"

"He's fine," Naruto assures her.

"At least we assume so," Sasuke adds darkly.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means sit down and let's fix your injuries, and then we'll tell you," he retorts, pointing to a nearby tree. Sarada wants to protest, but she knows they're right. Besides, with Kakashi momentarily absent, there's nothing else to do.

She opens her mouth, but Naruto interjects, "Don't argue with your old man!"

He sniggers, and ducks Sasuke's attempt to punch him again, but completely forgets to avoid the swift kick that follows it.

Inappropriate humour and violence aside, Naruto and Sasuke are right.

The four of them crouch down at the base of a tree, with the boys keeping an eye out for any more unexpected attackers – or opening portals, apparently. Meanwhile, Sakura concerns herself with applying whatever healing aids they got from Konohamaru to Sarada's injuries.

Luckily, in addition to a good amount of chakra replenishment patches , some of the tubes look like the standard issue healing balms her mother pioneered. Which means they'll be the most effective.

"You should treat yours, too," Sarada tells Sakura, but the other girl shakes her head.

"You need your arms more than I need to look pretty," she tells her, and then beams. "Besides, I have this amazing concealer at home, when you use it, you can't even tell. Ino gave it to me after the Chūnin Exam."

It's a lie, but Sarada knows better than to push it right now. Instead, she turns to the boys. "So what's going on? Where's Boruto?"

"You're awful concerned about him," Naruto remarks innocently, his eyes turning sly and squinty.

Sasuke elbows him. "He's fine. Probably on the way to save your other teammate."

"Mitsuki's alive, too?" Sarada cries, wincing as her movement jars something. Sakura snaps at her to stop moving, and she lowers her voice. "How is he still alive? I thought…I mean, it makes no sense…"

"We'll get to that. Before we do, there's the matter of Jikken—"

"Who?" asks Sarada.

"The ghost."

"He has a _name_ now?" Sakura cries.

"It would seem so."

"How'd you find out?"

"He told us."

"We had to let him out of Kakashi-sensei's crazy weird Sharingan dimension," Naruto puts in, not liking Sasuke being the one with all the answers.

"You _what_?" Sakura demands. "You mean, we were running around here in the dark, and he could have just popped up and gone after us?! As if we didn't have enough to worry about!"

"He wouldn't have gone after you, it would have taken too much of his time," Sasuke says. "He probably calculated the probability of you being alive being too low to affect his plans."

"Oh, great, now there are _plans_."

"Are either of you going to stop interrupting?"

Sakura makes an apologetic face. "Sorry."

"Don't be an ass," Naruto tells him, then turns to Sakura. "He's trying to pretend he wasn't just as worried about you as I was—OW!"

Sasuke has punched him in the back of his head. Naruto rounds on him, raising a fist and preparing to retaliate, but Sarada shouts, "Knock it off, both of you! The world is ending, now's not the time for you guys to have angry grudge match!"

Both boys look as if they want to argue with her on that, but thankfully think better of it. Naruto makes a show of straightening up, while Sasuke folds his arms over his chest.

"So why is…Jikken doing all this?" Sarada wants to know, relaxing as the pain in her left hand completely disappears. The cracked knuckle is already mending, and she feels the chakra patches seeping into her skin.

"He's trying to open up a door to the past, to when Orochimaru was still a child. Apparently, he wants to kill him."

"But he can't do that!" Sarada protests. "If he does…everything will change!"

"Sarada, if you don't stop moving, I'm going to knock you out after all," Sakura says with a deceptively crisp pleasantness that has her sitting back with a scowl.

Instead of getting angrier, she sullenly goes on, trying to keep calm. "So Jikken wants to go back in time. But what does that have to do with Mitsuki?"

"Jikken wants to use Mitsuki, because because of some blood similarity," Sasuke says. "Konohamaru said some jutsu are specific enough to require certain blood types. At least that's the impression I got."

"That's…maybe not impossible, but highly improbable," Sakura frowns in thought.

"I imagine Orochimaru or Kabuto have concocted some kind of device to enhance chakra and abilities."

"I don't want to imagine…" Naruto shudders.

"Even if they did, time travel isn't Jikken's ability," Sakura notes as she finishes rechecking Sarada's bandages and fitting the last patches in place.

"He's working with someone else," Naruto declares, jumping on the change of topic. "Or maybe he's working _for_ her, I dunno exactly. He called her a goddess, so _probably_ he's working for her. But then again, he's not exactly the sanest guy ever."

"Understatement…"

"Kakashi thinks it's just a very skilled shinobi," Sasuke says. "Someone who has figured out how to manipulate time."

Sarada shifts uncomfortably here, and glances at Sakura. Her mother's face is drawn, eyes flitting to Sasuke and then back at her. She gives a minute shake of her head, a warning.

"Wish I knew how," Naruto grumbles. "But that ghost jerk wouldn't tell us. It's got to have something to do with that freak Orochimaru, though. Man, I hate that weirdo…"

"He's a bit…peculiar," Sarada admits reluctantly. "But he's always been nice to me. In a weird way, but still."

"If he's been experimenting on this individual, it's likely that he or she has a curse mark magnifying their ability," Sasuke muses, ignoring them. "And that ability is probably some kind of forbidden jutsu."

"It's not really a forbidden jutsu," Sarada says before she thinks it through completely. "Just one that was lost a long time ago. It shouldn't even exist in this time."

Sasuke frowns. "What do you mean?"

Now Sakura is almost glaring at Sarada, quickly relaxing when Naruto gives her a funny look.

"You're not going to believe this," Sarada says, taking a deep breath, "but…there are stories in my family. About a woman who had an advanced Sharingan ability—one so powerful, she could travel in time."

"Your family?" Naruto repeats. "As in, an Uchiha?"

Sasuke tenses. "That's impossible."

"That's what It—that's what I thought, but then I remembered the legend. Apparently, she could skip ahead by weeks and months."

Sarada quickly relays the – highly – edited version of the story her uncle told her.

"I've never heard about this," Sasuke says, eyes narrowed.

"Well, it's an old legend. Like, before the First Hokage's time–"

"Then I would have heard about it, but I haven't."

"It…it's not something you're going to find out until my time," Sarada says carefully, mentally promising to tell her father all about it if they survive this adventure.

Sasuke doesn't appear to buy this, but switches tracts.

"If you knew about this, why didn't you mention something before? Especially once we realised that time travel was involved?"

"Yeah, seriously, we could have saved a lot of time if you'd said something before we went rooting around underground," Naruto complains.

"Well, I wasn't really thinking about it before!" Sarada protests. "Not really—I mean, this Uchiha woman was supposed to be able to move just herself, okay? I didn't realise she could do it on a large scale, so I didn't make the connection to what was happening here to her. Something must have happened to bring her here, and It—we think she might have been captured by Orochimaru and experimented on."

"'We'?" Sasuke repeats, glancing at Sakura suspiciously. Her jaw is clenched, and she looks pained, as if she is biting her tongue on something.

She swallows and says, "Right. W-we were taking about it. While we were trying to get back here. Because, you know, it was just us for a bit."

Sarada winces.

 _And_ that's _where I get my inability to lie from…_

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	24. Interlude III

When Mitsuki wakes again, he can feel his extremities once more, though he wishes he couldn't. Pain radiates throughout his entire body, and his head swims, the sensation akin to standing up too fast, except it doesn't go away and he is lying supine.

He is strapped tightly to some kind of gurney, and someone has stripped him of his shirt and shoes, leaving arms and ankles exposed. Wires and tubes snake into his arms, intravenous lines dripping something yellow into his body. When he tries to build up his chakra, to destroy the offending tubes with lightning, or slip into his senjutsu, nothing happens.

 _Chakra and strength dampening mixture,_ he realises with a nauseous feeling in his stomach.

It is not entirely because of the situation he is in, or the memories it evokes. His body feels too light somehow, and he cranes his head—it's difficult, because something heavy is strapped across his forehead and temples to keep him in place—but he can see the lines of dark red liquid draining out of him.

"Exsanguination," he realises out lout.

"Clever boy," the woman's voice rasps, and his eyes flick across the small room. The woman remains fastened to the wall, but her eyes are trailing figures that move around the room. Mitsuki can't get a great look at them, but he thinks that's where the smell of unwashed bodies comes from.

The woman needs hands, and these creatures act as such for her.

"There are quicker methods than this, then," he tells her calmly, while trying to locate an exit or any information that might aid in his less-than-likely escape.

"Not if you are meant to remain alive," she replies coolly. "Not if more is needed. As soon as you reach the lowest amount of blood needed to survive, we will replenish."

"For what purpose?"

"To take more."

He clenches his fists, and immediately regrets it, because the movement makes his head spin.

His eyes rest on several bulky pieces of tech arranged beside the woman. He hadn't noticed them before, but now he wonders how he couldn't have.

"I've seen those before," he says thickly. "In my…parent's lab."

The equipment works much like a ninja tool, allowing an individual to store up their specialized abilities and target them somewhere specific. Another machine amplifies abilities over a large area. Used together, though…

There's a sneer in her voice when she speaks.

"I learned much, watching your _parent_ and his underling," she says coldly. "And by being used by them, like a tool, and discarded just as easily."

"That's what's causing the ghosts," Mitsuki realises. "You're reaching through time…and the fallout is settling over everything. Different timelines are interacting with each other."

She sniffs.

"The first attempt to use the machine did not work. It caused a small rip in the timeline. Too small and too unstable. It needs time to warm up."

"But the longer it runs, the larger the area it affects," Mitsuki protests. "The residual energy would bleed out over this entire area. It might even reach other countries."

"It is an operational risk," the woman dismisses.

One of the creatures—he sees now it resembles a bat and human hybrid—nears him and replaces the IV bag with more of the yellow fluid. "My abilities have always had a drawback. I may travel back in time, but once I do, interacting with my past-self causes me to wink out of existence. I lose all the knowledge I have gained. If I were to go back now…my past self would simply repeat all the same mistakes."

His brains struggles to parse what she is saying as the newly added drugs begin to work. "But with the machine that allows you to set a target, you can protect yourself from the fallout."

"Yes. I can effect change from here and remain safe from the consequences. A timefield within changing time."

"Then why…do you need me?"

"The problem with this machine is it was built based on Orochimaru's original model. It has biometric controls to prevent anyone other than him to operate it," she says. "Or anyone who does not share the same DNA." She smiles grotesquely. "But now we have more than enough of that."

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	25. Chapter Twenty-One

"It makes no sense," Sasuke reiterates. "Even if this mysterious Uchiha you're insisting existed—even if she could manipulate time, no human should have the ability to do what she's done without augmentative technology. And that includes showing up here in the first place. It's one thing to be able to travel weeks or months. But over several centuries? How did she do that?"

Which, actually, is a good point, and which neither Sarada or Sakura have an answer for.

 _Where's Itachi Uchiha when you need him?_

"Maybe Orochimaru was doing something on this side already?" Sakura suggests. Sarada considers her, askance, but her mother has her pensive face on. "We already know that parallel universes and alternate dimensions exist, maybe he did something that created a ripple, or an explosion, but it only affected different time periods?"

"Huh?" Naruto wants to know.

"Like a blast wind, from an explosion," Sarada catches on. "Whenever anything explodes—even something as small as a tag or something—it creates a vacuum. That's physics. Almost immediately, the vacuum will refill itself with the surrounding atmosphere."

"Only in this case, the surrounding atmosphere is time," Sakura says. "And that creates a pull. What if this Teisōko person—at the exact moment when she, I don't know, time-jumped—she got caught in that blast wind."

"And it magnified her abilities, to bring her here."

They nod at each other in agreement, and Sarada can't help grin. It's nice to see that even this early, her mother has the brains.

 _If this version of her weren't as obsessed with Sasuke, she'd probably have been the top of her graduating class._

"I don't believe you." Both girls glance up, noticing Sasuke glowering at them. "Either of you. You're hiding something."

"N-no we're not, Sasuke – what would we have to hide?" Sakura asks, voice higher than usual. Naruto looks at her suspiciously at that.

 _You know you're a bad liar if even Uncle Naruto can tell…_

"Maybe not about this: figuring out how this convenient, mysterious Uchiha got here," Sasuke allows. "But how you figured it out? There's no way it just came to you out of nowhere."

"Well, tough, we're telling the truth!" Sarada retorts. "And right now isn't the time for us to be sniping, we have a job to do!"

"If you don't tell me—"

"Sarada's right." Everyone startles as Kakashi appears beside them.

"Jeez, where the heck did you come from?" Naruto demands.

"However she came by this information, it's not the issue," the jōnin continues. "Even if it doesn't make complete sense. If Orochimaru had access to this woman, and her abilities are as you describe, Sarada, he would never have let her go."

"That's not necessarily true," she replies slowly, remembering her encounter with the old Sannin during the incident with Shin Uchiha. "Some jutsu are body specific and can't be transferred. My father brought us once to speak to Orochimaru, and there was—er, an experiment there. Orochimaru said he had tried to harness that person's body and its special abilities to use for himself and ultimately couldn't. After that, he ended up just letting the guy go off on his own."

 _And that nearly got us all killed, too._

Naruto shoots Sasuke a funny look. "Why the hell would you bring your kid to see Orochimaru?"

"I wouldn't know," Sasuke shoots back.

"So, Teisōko was a failed experiment too, maybe?" Sakura suggests.

"And with no other Uchiha left in this time, he couldn't find anyone else to experiment on," Kakashi concludes, eyeing Sasuke. There is clearly something on his mind just then that he isn't sharing.

"So he left this chick behind and she got found by crazy Jikken?" Naruto asks. "And now we've got _two_ crazy people teaming up to change the past?" He snorts. "Oh, that is not good."

"We have to stop this!" Sakura declares.

"Not 'we'," Kakashi disagrees. " _We_ have to get out of the time bubble. Based on what Jikken said, our presence here is the one sustaining the paradox. Hopefully by leaving, we can at least stop the time windows that keep opening up. Slow the process down."

"Slow down but not stop? What about Jikken and Teisōko?"

"Your father has been notified—"

"At least, we think so," Naruto puts in, scratching his chin.

"Think so?" Sarada echoes. "You don't sound exactly sure!"

"I mean, it's not like we could exactly check, summons aren't working."

Sasuke grunts out, "Konohamaru and Boruto are dealing with it."

"So they're supposed to go rescue Mitsuki and take down a crazy teleporting ghost clone and an ancient Uchiha with time travel powers?" Sarada demands, her voice going shrill in her incredulity. "But Konohamaru-sensei was wounded!"

"He's been healed enough for functionality," Kakashi says, resigned.

"But he could still die!"

"We could all die if we don't get out of here."

"We can't let them do this alone!"

"Sarada," Kakashi sighs, "we don't have a choice."

And she knows he's right.

She knows it with the same certainty that she knows she can't go with her family's younger selves.

Even as the knowledge occurs to her, Sarada realises there won't be much that she can do. Despite the patchy healing she's had, she's nowhere near strong enough to do anything against the enemy. But she might be able to buy her teammates—and, if Naruto was right, her father—some time to fix everything.

 _Assuming I make it in time._

"No," Sarada says quietly, straightening her spine and looking her uncle straight in the face. "You're right. You don't."

Kakashi's expression softens, but there is a gravity there she is familiar with. That is the face of the Sixth Hokage.

"I can't go with you," she hears herself say, even though the words feel like they're coming from far away.

"What?" Naruto demands, his voice chorusing with Sakura's.

"I know," Kakashi says.

"Are you nuts?! Konohamaru and Boruto both told us to get her out with us!"

"It doesn't matter what they said," Sarada insists. "I can't go with you—even if I did, and they were fine without me, I'd just have to stand there on the inside of the phenomena waiting for it to be over. And I can't do that."

"Then we'll go with you!"

"Yeah, we're not going anywhere unless we know you're okay," Sakura insists.

"And if I made it an order?" Kakashi questions, earning a shocked and somewhat betrayed silence from his students. "You all know that this is bigger than us."

Everyone goes quiet at that; they all know the situation is serious when Kakashi intends to leave behind a comrade.

 _Except I'm not, not really. I'm from a different time. Technically, they don't even know me yet. And if they don't get out, they never will._

"You guys have to go. Now," Sarada murmurs, tears pricking at her eyes.

"Sarada, no—!" Sakura tries to protest, but Sarada cuts her off by raising her left hand.

"I have to," she tells her. "I can't go with you back into your time, or it'll just be the same situation. Another paradox. But I can't just wait around here hiding from time portals and waiting for the end of the world to happen. Or not happen."

"Sarada…"

"If it were Papa and Uncle Naruto, would you just leave them behind?" she presses. To which, of course, Sakura can't offer a denial. "So, you guys go. And be careful that you don't get killed, because I kind of like existing."

"Well…" Kakashi begins. "You're still here, so obviously I do something right." His eyes crinkle the way they usually do when he's smiling. "Besides, your parents are just as precious to me now as they no doubt are in the future." His students look at him in surprise. He's never said such a thing out loud or within their hearing. "I trust that they're on their way to fix all of this. Just like you should trust me to get these three out of here safely."

"I do. I know you'll get them out of here." Kakashi inclines his head, and Sarada looks at Naruto. "You too, right?"

"This is a stupid ass idea," Naruto fumes, "and coming from me, that says something."

Sasuke snorts in agreement.

"Yeah, but most of your stupid ideas always tend to work out, right?" Sarada wheedles, giving him a brief hug. "I'll be fine."

Naruto's expression softens incrementally. "Yeah…"

"Besides, someone has to make sure Boruto doesn't try something ridiculous, like using the Sexy Jutsu on Teisōko."

"Tch. No one could be that stupid, even with half _this_ idiot's DNA," Sasuke mutters.

"Oi!"

Sarada forestalls any retribution for that comment by giving Naruto a brief hug, then turns to her mother.

"Bye, Mama," Sarada says, offering a tentative smile.

"It feels really weird to hear that," Sakura admits, sniffing a little. She's trying as hard as Sarada to hold back tears.

"You think it's weird? My mother's thirteen," Sarada laughs bitterly.

"I guess I'll get used to it one day," Sakura says, reaching out to hug Sarada. It's not the usual bone-cracking strength, but enough to make Sarada wince. "You be careful—and go kick some ass, _shannaro!_ "

"Yeah!" Sarada agrees, pulling away. She faces Sasuke, who is watching the girls' interchange uncomfortably. This entire time he has been holding himself back from them, like he is afraid to interact with either of them. Now that it's time to say goodbye, he looks like he wants to say something but can't figure out how to form the words.

 _Some things never change…_

She decides to give him an out.

Taking a few steps forward, until she is about a foot away, she puts one hand on her hips.

"You and I still have a lot to talk about," she tells him.

He evidently doesn't know what to say about that, because he crosses his arms, and grunts, "Hm."

Sarada beams.

"Next time," she promises, and then reaches out and taps his forehead with two fingers.

Sasuke makes a startled noise, recoiling a bit, and his eyes bulge.

"Why did you do that?" he chokes out, clutching his hands into fists so tight that his knuckles show through bone white. Sakura and Naruto make inquisitive noises, not understanding the significance of the gesture.

Kakashi, however, looks as if he recognises it.

"You always do it. Whenever you have to leave us behind," Sarada tells him.

"Do you know what that means?" he rasps, all confusion and wrong-footedness.

Even though this isn't the exact reaction she expected, she now understands it. Because to her father, the only person who would make such a gesture is her Uncle Itachi. Instead of opening up that venue of conversation, however, Sarada only smiles.

"It means what it always means," she tells him. "And you can take that however you want."

Squaring her shoulder, Sarada turns away from her once and present family, and takes a deep breath.

Then, before they can change her mind, she takes off into the darkness.

Afterward, the journey back to the edge of the time-bubble is unnaturally silent.

As they dart through the trees, Kakashi risks a glance back at the kids, partially to ensure they are still following and partially to assess if they are alright. Saying goodbye to Sarada and running away from a fight are decisions that no one is happy about, himself included.

For once, Sakura and Sasuke mirror each other's expressions, both lost in convoluted thoughts. Sakura's worry and agitation grow more noticeable every passing second, but clearly not for herself. Kakashi has only ever seen her like this when one—or all—of the team is in danger.

Unlike her teammates, Sakura doesn't concern herself with winning or losing fights, as much as with the well-being of others. That the 'other' in this case is her daughter is only ancillary.

Sasuke, meanwhile, is still deciphering the meaning behind his future child's words and that final farewell gesture. There's no reason that the girl should know what it means—no logical explanation he can come up with as to why his future self would pass _that_ on to his daughter. Experiencing the feel of fingers tapping his brow, from someone other than Itachi, is confusing and painful and yet somehow…

 _Reassuring?_

Throughout all of this, Naruto's silence is probably the most uncharacteristic. The boy never has a problem expression his agreement or disagreement on matters, and in such a situation, he should be raging. From the redness of his cheeks and the general tension of his shoulders, that situation isn't necessarily forgone, either.

Kakashi wonders if they will make it out of the time-bubble before one of the kids blow.

When the whiskered-boy lets out an aggravated howl of disgust, Kakashi sighs.

 _Of course, we won't make it out without incident. Because things haven't gone smoothly since I got assigned this group…_

"Argh! This is complete _crap_!" Naruto yells furiously, even though thankfully he doesn't slow his pace. "What the hell are we doing?!"

"You know what we're doing," Kakashi points out, slowing only enough to be within reaching distance should he have to grab the kid.

"Oh, come on! Didn't anyone else find it weird how pushy Jikken was about trying to get us to leave? Maybe it was to trick us, like he was a worried we'd make a difference if we stayed!"

"Our presence here only makes the paradox worse. If the only thing we can contribute is weakening it, that's what we're going to do."

"That doesn't make it any better!"

"It's all we have."

"Bullshit!" he snarls, and then glances furiously at his teammates over his shoulder. "Are you two stupid?! That's your kid!"

"Naruto—"

"We're just going to let her walk off into the unknown? And everyone's just okay with it? Did I miss something here?!"

"Of course we're not okay with it, Naruto," Sakura begins, her voice tight like she's struggling not to cry or yell. Or both.

Naruto turns his attention on Sasuke.

"What happened to being so determined to find her again, hey, bastard?" he goes on, probably not liking the fact he's upset Sakura. Sasuke is an easier, more familiar target. "You didn't care so much about getting out of here before!"

"We didn't know she was alive," Sasuke bites out. "And don't act like you're the better one here. You left Boruto behind with nothing but a fist-bump."

"That was before I knew there was some kind of crazy, time-travelling broad from _your_ family involved!"

Sasuke clenches his teeth but ignores that. When he doesn't take the bait, Naruto presses his luck.

"Even if she wasn't your kid, even if she was just a stranger, we're supposed to help people who are in trouble! But she _is_ your kid, which is why you definitely shouldn't leave her behind!

"Stop talking," Sasuke orders, warning in his words.

But Naruto continues. "Parents shouldn't leave their kids, believe it! And you should definitely know better than anyone!"

"Naruto!" Sakura cries, and surprisingly, the warning is echoed by Kakashi.

It's too late though. Sasuke has let out an angry snarl and turned in mid-air to throw himself at Naruto, knocking him into him mid-leap.

The unspoken rule since their team was formed is to never mention Sasuke's family to him. In all their altercations, Naruto has never stooped to that level, likely because of his own status as an orphan. He is truly upset—and likely at himself as well—if he's dared to bring that up now.

The boys hit the forest floor below, Sasuke rolls them over until he's sitting on Naruto's chest, hauling back and driving a fist into his jaw.

As he hauls back to do it again, Naruto spits a wordless curse at him and frees a hand, shoving a hand into Sasuke's throat to keep him at bay.

It devolves into a tangle of limbs then, the boys fighting and scrapping angrily with one another. They are in too close quarters for either of them to activate any abilities, but it appears this fight isn't about proving who is better for once. It's just an angry, frustrated brawl of biting and clawing, two kids who have no other outlet but this one in the face of an inexplicable dilemma.

Kakashi and Sakura land beside them, and with practiced ease the jōnin grabs Sasuke and pulls him off Naruto. As he opens his mouth to deliver an unimpressed reprimand to the boys, Naruto jumps to his feet and tries to land another swing –

Only instead of connecting with Sasuke's jaw, it ploughs into Sakura's.

ナルト

Sarada feels like throwing up.

Unlike what she pretended to her parents and uncles, she is terrified. She has no clue what she's supposed to do once she reaches her destination, despite the vague suggestion from her uncle. Even as she speeds toward the center of the phenomenon, mentally keeping track of how far she has run and how far she still should go, she wishes she had another plan.

For all she knows, she's running towards her death.

The forest valley that flies by in her periphery is slowly lit by light on the horizon; dawn is breaking, and she wonders dimly if the time phenomenon is visible from Konoha yet. Hers or her parents. On the tail of that thought is the worry that her parents' past versions haven't made it out yet – or worse, that the present versions of her father and Uncle Naruto haven't made it through.

Or aren't coming.

She doesn't have the chance to panic at this thought before something large and snarling drops out in front of her. Sarada staggers back a few steps to orient herself, in a split second taking in her attacker.

It resembles a two-legged, upright lizard, half as tall as Sarada and six feet long from snout to tail. Reddish stripes, like dried blood, criss-cross a hide made of a bizarre amalgamation of scales and feathers.

"What…the…?"

The growling, hissing creature ducks its muscular neck down and forward, jaws wide—and no animal should have that many teeth!—then throws itself forward, the large, sickle-shaped claw on its foot slashing at Sarada.

She barely moves out of the way in time, still close enough to smell the foul breath of a carnivore as they avoid each other in the air.

The creature— _dinosaur,_ her disbelieving mind supplies—needs a moment to reorient itself, and Sarada takes immediate advantage. She can't afford having her guts slashed out right now, or attempt to fight it off.

Ignoring the excruciating pain from her broken hand, she forms the hand signs and channels as much chakra as possible, stopping only once it reaches the sweet-spot between her chest and mouth. As the thing begins to lunge at her again, Sarada expels a flaming blast of heat.

Her _Katon_ isn't as large as her father's, but it's strong and hot enough to melt iron.

There's an angry, agonised scream from somewhere within the swirling vortex of heat and fire, and when the flames stop, all that remains is a twitching, smoking corpse.

Sarada hunches over in recovery for several seconds, eyeing the flaming carcass and the half-desiccated snout that is still pulled into a dying snarl.

"Sorry," she pants, without even really knowing why. Once she catches her breath, she darts off again.

 _These time portal things are getting really out of control now…_

Even if it's all temporary, even if they manage to stop this time-bubble, there's going to be one hell of a clean-up crew that has to be called in. Possibly in several different time periods.

 _Seriously, how did nobody know this happened before?_

Soon she is out of the forest valley and hurtling through the rocky expanse of a small canyon. It inclines upward, meeting barren rocks on all sides and making each step she takes echo worryingly. If anyone were following her—and she doesn't rule it out—it would be easy to find her.

The rising sun casts long shadows and she can hear the sounds from time portals spiralling open, but she barely pays them attention. Unless they become an immediate threat, she can't linger. Having creatures from another time attacking her is one thing – having another run in with confused individuals from other times are quite another.

 _I wonder how many people disappeared over the centuries and millennia, and really, they just ended up here?_

If she's really unlucky, there will more Senju nearby.

The canyon finally narrows, the terrain becoming steeper and tapering into a gorge. The rocks here are old, their wide layers suggesting age. The walls trickle with runoff from somewhere far above – or deep within, perhaps – and high, jutting rocks wind themselves into a variety of shapes and formations.

It's like being lost in a forest again, only instead of trees there are only rocks here.

The hair on the back of her neck stands up, and Sarada narrows her eyes.

"The only real difference between the two being," she murmurs out loud, slipping a kunai into her palm, "it's harder to hide here!"

She whirls around and lobs the kunai just as a figure steps around one of the larger rock formations.

"Hey!" a familiar voice yelps, and there's a _clang_ as the weapon is deflected.

Sarada gapes in shock as Konohamaru steps fully out of the shadows.

"Sensei?" she asks, disbelieving.

He mirrors her expression. "Sarada?"

"What?" Boruto demands, appearing beside their teacher instantly. He peers over and his eyes go wide as well. "Sarada!"

"Boruto?!" she cries, and before her brain catches up with the rest of her she throws herself forward, and with her good arm drags him into a tight hug.

"Ack—can't breathe—!"

"Oops—sorry!"

"You're alive," Konohamaru states, still sounding a little stunned.

"Of course she's alive!" Boruto crows. "She's the most uptight, stubborn person in the world!"

"Except for you, you big idiot!" Sarada shoots back and punches him hard in the shoulder. She gazes up at Konohamaru and smiles. "It's good to see you conscious."

"It's good to be conscious," he replies, looking doubtful for a moment, and then reaching out to awkwardly pat her head. He opens his mouth to say something, makes a face, then shakes his head and turns sombre. "Sarada, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean, what am I doing here? I came to help stop Jikken and Teisōko."

"Jikken and who?" Boruto blinks.

"Not right now," Konohamaru interrupts him, holding up a hand and narrows his eyes at Sarada. Most of his attention seems to fall on her arm. "You're injured. You were supposed to stay with Team 7. Kakashi said he'd keep you safe—"

"Well, it's not his say and technically he isn't my jōnin instructor, so—"

"This isn't the time to be a smartass! This is serious, hey?" Konohamaru cuts her off. "None of us are in prime condition right now, Sarada."

She shrinks back a moment, looking at him closer, that he is pale and still has the greenish look of someone who is seconds from throwing up. Although she can see his shoulder is bandaged through the gaping wound in his shirt, there's still something wrong with the wound. The spindly green veins from before have started to teach up his throat.

"The poison's still in your system," she realises.

"Yeah, it is," he says seriously. "I've got enough strength for a few hours maybe, but after that I'm done. And you're crippled right now—Boruto's eventually going to run out of chakra with the amount of shadow clones he's been using today—and Mitsuki's missing. Beyond that, even if we were all in prime condition, this mission's far above any we've ever done together."

"So who the hell else is going to do it?" she shoots back. "Our parents saved the world, and they're not here, so it's our job!"

"Yeah!" Boruto chimes in. "And if you or Uncle Kakashi don't like it, you can stick it where the sun don't shine!"

Konohamaru blinks at the two of them and sighs. "I don't know what's more annoying – when you two are fighting, or when you agree." Sarada opens her mouth. "Don't. That wasn't a question." He sighs. "Alright, let's do this. We can fill you in on what we've learned so far –"

"And you can tell us who the hell Teisōko is," Boruto adds.

They set off together, continuing in the direction Sarada was headed in before.

Konohamaru and Boruto don't have much new information to give her—Team 7 covered all the major points—but they both curse when Sarada gives them the vague and so-far speculative ideas about Teisōko Uchiha.

Boruto lets out an aggravated growl, grabbing his hair in frustration.

"Do we even have a plan for all this? I mean, we've got a psycho teleporter who's already taken all of us out at one point, plus an ancient time-traveller-slash-goddess. We know at least one of them has a curse seal, and if the other one does…What the hell are we supposed to do?!"

"Jikken might be a teleporter, but even a curse seal has its drawbacks," Konohamaru says quietly, studying their surroundings with a weather eye. Although Sarada is pretty sure they're near the centre of the time bubble now, there's no indication in the barren rocks faces or in the ground that there's somewhere Jikken could hold up.

She sees no footprints, and even with her Sharingan active there's no sign of genjutsu.

"Also, if you use it too much, it makes you weak once it wears off," she adds absently.

"And considering how much energy teleportation already takes," Konohamaru muses, "that gives us a plan right there."

"Our big idea is to tire him out and then strike?" Boruto inquires, then smirks. "So. Shadow clones then. Check. What about Granny Uchiha?"

"We have to take her eyes," Sarada explains grimly. "And possibly set her on fire."

Her teacher and her friend stare at her.

"Do I want to know how you know that?" Boruto asks.

"Probably not."

"Well, I do," Konohamaru says. "Considering we're about to bet our lives on it."

"It's just…I got some unexpected advice," Sarada says, uncomfortable.

"From?"

"…from my dad's brother."

Once again, they stare at her.

"Isn't he dead?" Boruto wants to know, while Konohamaru demands sharply, "You saw Itachi Uchiha?"

"Uh…yeah?"

Konohamaru's expression is utterly blank, but something steely glints in his eye. "Right. Then the information is as good as we have."

"Wait—hold on, you're just gonna trust some advice she got from her dead uncle?"

"He wasn't dead, he was as alive as you or me! He was just from the past…"

"Itachi Uchiha was one of the greatest shinobi to ever come out of Konoha," Konohamaru states. "You'll have to ask your folks for the details—"

"Of course," Sarada mutters.

"—but if he tells you to do something, you do it."

"You knew him?" Sarada asks, surprised.

"No. I never met him. But I heard stories, and Naruto told me…" He shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. If Itachi Uchiha says we take this woman's eyes and torch her, that's what we do."

Sarada crosses her arms. "One day, I'm putting all of you old people in a room and getting you to tell me what the hell happened before we were born."

"I'll help," Boruto agrees.

"Yeah, yeah, you two sound very threatening and impressive," Konohamaru dismisses, and then suddenly yelps, "And I ain't old!"

Sarada and Boruto shoot him unimpressed glances, and he composes himself.

"None of that matters, though. Especially if we don't find where this Teisōko person is holed up." He gestures at their surroundings. The giant wall of rocks that towers over them has effectively created a dead-end to their journey. "I don't know about you guys, but there's nothing here that looks like a hidden entrance or a base. And there's no sign of Jikken, which is seriously not a good thing. That means he's too busy destroying the world while you two are planning interrogation tactics."

"Yeah, well, maybe if you weren't so chatty…" Boruto grumbles.

"You are supposed to be the adult here," Sarada reminds him.

Konohamaru glares heavenward. "No respect."

After that, there isn't any more talk.

The three of them split up, scouring the rocky outcroppings for any sign of a hidden base. Konohamaru busies himself with trying and failing the sense any large emissions of chakra. Boruto turns over rocks and stones, sifting through rubble for _anything_ because they have no idea what they're even looking for.

"This would go faster with clones," he grumbles.

"We're planning a deathmatch with a goddess, don't waste your energy," Sarada retorts, following Boruto's every movement. While his searching is cursory, she might be able to pick up details that he can't –

 _Wait._

There's an unexpected flash of colour against the dull rocks to her left.

Taking a second look, she realises it's not just colour. It's writing.

"Hey, look at this!" she calls out, backing up a little to see how much of it there is.

"Look at what?"

"The writing, over here!"

"I just see rock," Boruto states.

"I think you need to have a Sharingan to see this," Konohamaru says dryly.

"That makes sense," Sarada agrees. "I bet this place is somewhere only an Uchiha can get to."

"Or a teleporter that doesn't have to use doors."

"So, what, is there a giant sign saying "Entry to Big Bad Base Ahead"?"

Sarada glares at Boruto in response, then darts her gaze up and down the wall. There has to be some indication, somewhere in the ancient looking script, of what they're supposed to do now.

But there are no words. Only symbols and carvings in the rock—symbols and carvings she doesn't have time to describe to her teammates on the off chance that Konohamaru might know what they mean.

 _There's something, though…_

A foot or so above her head, there's a large, circle carved into the stone. Sarada takes a step back to get a better look, and notes that it resembles a stylised, fully-active Sharingan. Squinting to make the details stand out even more, she notices that the three _tomoe_ are dented a little more into the rock than the rest of the design.

Curious, she reaches up and taps the one that's easiest to reach. There's a slight scraping sound, like rock on rock, and it pushes inward.

"I think…I think there's a switch here!" she declares, pushing it even deeper in.

Nothing happens.

"Well, that worked," Boruto drawls.

"Shut up! It's not the only one!"

"We'll have to take your word for it."

"Look, would you just—Konohamaru-sensei, reach up and press your hand there."

"What—here?"

"Yes. Feel that?"

"There's some give in the wall," Konohamaru realises. "I can't see it, but I definitely feel it. It could be some kind of panel or secret way in."

"After the day we've been having today? I wouldn't be surprised."

Konohamaru nods and punches the rock panel into the wall; again, the only effect is the sound of rock sliding against rock.

Sarada makes a face and goes to try the final, untouched _tomoe_. The same effect.

"That really worked," Boruto deadpans. "Is there another invisible button somewhere for me to press, too? I feel all left out."

"It's possible they have to be pushed in sequence," Konohamaru suggests. "A lot of old warding stones work that way."

It's worth a try, and with a little bit of direction, she and Konohamaru try pushing the _tomoe_ panels in every possible sequence.

Still nothing.

"Yeah, that worked great," Boruto rolls his eyes. "How about next we press them all at once and hope for the best? Come on, guys, this is a total waste of time. We might as well just walk up the cliff and see if there's anything – hey!"

"Put your hand here," Sarada demands, pressing his palm against the third _tomoe_ impression, and then putting her own over the one she first touched. "Alright, on three, we'll press them all see if that works."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then we'll try something else, now come on!"

Boruto huffs, but offers no more argument.

As soon as all of their hands are in place, Sarada gives the signal. They press the stone panels into the wall, and then—

 _Clunk!_

The rock-on-rock sound is joined by a sound like tumblers sliding into place, and the ground beneath them begins to rumble.

"Get back!" Konohamaru orders, waving his students behind him. They all gaze up in front of them in surprise.

Cracks split and scatter all the way up the rock face, emitting tiny splinters of light as it happens. The flat space of wall that they stand in front of begins to slide back, as if drawn by some invisible mechanism.

A giant doorway appears, leading into the inky black darkness that can only be another tunnel; the upper frame of the entrance is marked by a carved _uchiwa_.

"I can't believe that worked," Sarada and Boruto chorus as the dust settles, exchanging nonplussed glances.

The world stops shaking eventually, leaving them the three of them facing the interior of the mountain before them.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Sarada," Konohamaru begins, scratching the bag of his head, "but you're family creeps me out, you know?"

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	26. Chapter Twenty-Two

"Naruto!" Kakashi snaps, feeling Sasuke go rigid beneath his grasp at the sight of Sakura staggering to one side. Naruto's face immediately shifts from rage to dismay, and he shrinks back in shock at what he has just done.

"Shit! Sakura, I'm sorry! I didn't—I wasn't trying to—are you okay—?"

The girl doesn't answer right away, which makes Kakashi uneasy. That feeling increases when she straightens up and shakes off the blow. A tiny trail of blood trickles from the corner of her mouth and down her chin.

"Do you think this is helping?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper. Somehow, it's worse than if she were yelling. "Getting angry…fighting each other like two little boys?" To everyone's surprise, she throws a glare Sasuke's way as well. "How does this help? When has this _ever_ helped?" Her voice rises here. "You are going to get yourselves, and the rest of us, killed with all this stupid fighting! If you— _both of you_ —don't knock it off, I swear I will throw you into one of those time windows myself and let you get eaten by…by dinosaurs or something, so help me! And then all of this is moot because you'll be dead and the world will end because of your _stupid, idiotic fighting!"_

She finishes her angry diatribe, out of breath and furious.

Both boys appear shamefaced.

"I'm sorry," Naruto says, and then groans angrily. "It's just…this whole thing rubs me the wrong way! It feels wrong, running from a fight—don't you guys feel it too?"

"It doesn't matter what we feel," Sasuke says. "'A shinobi never shows their feelings, no matter hat the circumstances. Feelings are a weakness that only clouds their judgement and weakens their sense of duty.'"

"Now _that's_ definitely bullshit," Naruto retorts. "Do you think we could have done half the stuff we _have_ done already if we didn't have feelings? We'd have all been dead since the Land of Waves!"

"This is a very different occasion," Kakashi replies.

"Yeah, well, it's not like they've got time travel in the Hokage handbook!" Naruto snaps. "If I was Granny Tsunade, or…or whoever's in charge in this time, I'd let whoever was actually out in the mess of things make the decisions! And right now, that's you, Kakashi-sensei!"

"Actually," Sakura says quietly, "no, it's not."

This causes everyone in the group to glance up in surprise.

Shaking a little, Sakura draws herself up straighter; he knees wobble, but she stands firm.

"You put me in charge, Kakashi-sensei," she reminds him. "So…so you don't get to make this decision."

"Wait…what?" Naruto asks, shooting Sasuke a confused look. His teammate's face, however, opens in dawning comprehension.

"That's right," he says slowly, and his mouth tilts slightly upward as he glances from his teammate to his teacher. "You ceded command to a subordinate in the field, and until she officially gives it back to you, she's still in charge."

He folds his arms across his chest, now smirking fully in triumph.

Naruto demands, "When was this? And why would you put her in charge?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura snaps, recovering herself from her surprise.

"It was before, when he got stabbed by Mumyōi," Sasuke answers. "And it's because she's smart and can think analytically."

Sakura's cheeks flood with warmth and her heartbeat picks up; Sasuke rarely acknowledges her like this.

"Yeah, but so are y—I-I mean, yeah, okay, that makes sense," Naruto says hastily before something vaguely complimentary comes out about Sasuke. "Definitely a better option than you, seeing as how you're such a hotheaded d—"

"Naruto," Sakura cuts him off sharply, and narrows her eyes. " _Dinosaurs_."

He pales, and she fights down the compulsion to pump her fist in the air in triumph. Instead, she turns her attention to Kakashi, trying to gauge his facial reaction to this challenge of his authority.

"Think this through, Sakura," Kakashi warns. "Is this really a decision you want the responsibility of making?"

Sakura opens her mouth to answer, but stops as the words get stuck in her throat.

Her momentary bravery wavers, and she shoots a look at Sasuke as if he will have an answer for her. Their eyes meet for a beat, and she can see that he is just as conflicted about the whole thing as she and Naruto are.

Every shred of Sakura, every cell of her being, wants to turn around and go looking for Sarada right now. That girl, who in a matter of hours Sakura found herself so keen to protect, is out in this chaos, preparing to put herself in danger because there's no other choice. Her future child, who is the best of what she will one day be and the best of what Sasuke will one day be.

Sakura wants to save her.

But considering all the close calls that they have already had today—every one of them has almost been killed at least twice—that would be more than a gamble. It's only pure luck that they're all still more or less intact, if they were to run back now…

"If something happens to me…if one of us, or both of us gets hurt badly, or…or killed, she won't exist," Sakura whispers. "Ever."

"I know," Sasuke tells her, and she hears the strain in his voice.

"It's not just us," she goes on, gaze falling on Naruto. "You…you never had a family either. And if something happens to you now, you'll never get to have that."

"You can't miss what you never had," Naruto says, trying to sound blasé about the entire thing. "Besides, if we keep high-tailing it and the world gets changed, we won't know any better. And if we go back and fight but get killed, we won't know any better. That's the whole thing, right? If we fail, then nothing matters, but if we don't…"

He trails off, his usual devil-may-care grin taking over.

"So, I say, screw it!"

"Naruto's right," Sasuke says, eliciting a surprised exclamation from the blond boy. "This whole situation is uncertain. In fact, the only thing that we know for sure is this: Sarada and the others exist. Right now, they're real and not some arbitrary future. And they're heading into something they're definitely not prepared for."

"And probably outnumbered—I mean, we don't even know if Future-Sasuke and Future-Me got the message, right? So, they might not even have back-up!"

Sakura bites her lip, knowing exactly how the boys feel about this. It should make her feel more confident that they all think the same as she does, but it doesn't—because she knows their motivations are as selfish as her own.

Sasuke never had this chance before.

He wasn't able to save his family, and he's doomed to find and kill his only brother. The only saving grace from that horrible future is Sarada. And Naruto, he's never even known his family existed, but today he got a taste of that. He has heard truths about his parents, and he got to see the son he will one day have.

If Jikken's plan isn't stopped, neither of them will ever have those chances.

And yet…

 _It's not just about our future kids…_

There are entire generations that might wink out of existence. If that happens, and Sakura's decision was to make a run for it instead of staying to defend their future, it's as if she's spitting on them. As if she's saying that those generations aren't worth fighting for. Which goes against not only her own heart, but against the lessons she has learned since she started on the path of becoming a shinobi.

If they stay inside the bubble, in spite of the paradox and the potential danger…if they go down fighting…

There's a chance, however slim, that they can save it all.

And if they don't, at least they'll die protecting their children, the world and the countless lives that have played out both past and future.

Sakura's hands ball into fists.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura begins, swallowing a few times to get rid of the dryness in her mouth, "even if we leave this place and limit the effects of the paradox, Jikken and Teisōko might still unravel it. Our world…it isn't perfect. We've all had bad things happen to us. Or to people we care about. But there's peace. It's not a bad world. And if it all changes, it won't just be our lives and futures that are different. In fact, we might never even be born." She takes a shuddering breath. "So, if we're going to die or…wink out of existence anyway, then we might as well be going down fighting and helping the people we care about, instead of running away."

"Hell yeah!" Naruto cheers. "What she said!"

Sasuke smirks and nods.

Once again, the three of them stand united, and Sakura flashes back to that day so long ago when they first became a team.

 _The three of us are one!_

Kakashi's eyes narrow, and his Sharingan spins lazily, as though he is considering the merits of knocking them all out and dragging them out of the time bubble by force.

"Are you saying," he begins slowly, looking from Sakura to the two boys, "that you're going to put the fate of the world—possible all of reality—in the hands of a thirteen-year-old girl?"

"Better than a science experiment with a split-personality," Naruto points out.

"Hm."

It's a three-on-one staring match for several tense seconds.

And then, Kakashi's face clears and his eyes crinkle in a smile. "Alright then."

It takes a moment for that to sink in.

" _What?!_ " all three kids chorus.

"What the hell was that all about?" Naruto demands.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?!" Sakura yells.

"I had to be sure you understood what you're saying," Kakashi tells them in his teacher voice. "The exact magnitude of what screwing this up could mean. What you're potentially giving up if we fail. Of course, not that what I have to say really means anything—after all, as Sasuke said, I did hand over control in the field. Who am I to argue with the rules?"

"Usually the first in line," Sasuke grumbles.

At this point, none of them should be surprised at Kakashi's unorthodox approach to _anything_ , and yet it always catches them off guard.

"So," Naruto says, grinning at Sakura, a keen gleam in his eyes. "What do we do?"

She hesitates, the magnitude of this decision washing over her again. The fate of the world is literally resting on her shoulders right not. Usually it's her teammates that shoulder the burdens and make the hard decisions, but for once she's the one with the final say.

Then she squares her shoulders and adopts what she hopes is a confident look.

"We go save our kids," she declares clearly.

"Alright, if that's settled with our fearless leader," Kakashi says, "let's go. Follow me and stay in formation. Avoid any portals and be prepared just to move past anything or anyone we encounter. We can't afford to be side-tracked."

The boys consider this, and Kakashi is proud to see that they actually look to Sakura for the cue here. For her part, she appears to weigh his words carefully, before nodding. Which at least shows that heightened emotions aside, she's still able to think logically.

 _Best quality in a leader is knowing when to follow._

Kakashi might be humouring Sakura's reminder about the chain of command, but he is the adult here and unquestionably the one with most experience. As much as he wanted to make sure his students were fully dedicated and cognisant of what altering the mission could mean, he's still the one that is going to have to ensure the least amount of casualties as possible.

 _I hope_.

"Let's kick ass!" Naruto cheers.

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Tch."

The four of them take off, hurrying back the way they came and quickly reaching the edge of the forest. Flora and fauna fade into the barren rock of the valley. Crossing it is probably the fastest way to get to their destination, but Kakashi calls for them to halt before they begin to cross.

"Wait," he says, sensing that there is something off. The kids pause behind him, and he takes a few tentative steps forward, then promptly retreats again.

"Do you feel that?" Kakashi asks, glancing behind him.

Sakura and Naruto adopts twin looks of confusion, but Sasuke's frown is one of contemplation. Copying Kakashi's tentative step forward, he wrinkles his nose. "It feels like the air right before a thunderstorm. Like a bolt of lightning is about to hit."

As the only other lightning user, he's the only one that can sense it so easily.

Kakashi nods.

"That's what I thought," he says. The space before them feels primed somehow—charged even. "That might be the quickest route for us to take, but I don't want to run the risk of a portal opening up anywhere along the way. Especially with that chance being so high."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asks.

"Because as far as either of us can see, there's nothing out there," Sasuke says, Sharingan spinning as he studies the valley. "With the air static like this, balance of probability says it's just a matter of time before something opens up out there. Considering how thick the air is, I don't think it'll be just the one."

"Or, it will be a large one," Kakashi says. "And all we need is for the wrong window to open in front of us."

"Yeah, like that weird window with the bright light and psycho trees," Naruto shudders.

"Exactly. I'm going to scout how far around this _rough patch_ goes. Maybe we'll be lucky and we can just go around it. Sasuke, you and Sakura stay here and keep an eye on everything in case something shifts. Naruto, you come on."

"Huh? Why me? I can't see anything!"

"No, but your unique abilities may come in handy," Kakashi says, already heading off.

"Hey! Hey—wait, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelps, scrambling after the jōnin.

They flit away, following along the line where forest begins to fade into rocky ground. As their shapes become smaller and smaller, Sakura and Sasuke are left standing beside one another in silence.

It's not lost on either of them that this is the first time since this whole ordeal began that they have been left alone together. Sasuke's eye twitches, a sudden suspicious taking shape.

"He didn't actually need Naruto along, did he?" Sakura asks quietly.

Evidently Sasuke's not the only one that doesn't one-hundred percent trust their sensei's motives.

"No," he answers shortly.

 _Kakashi is a meddling fool._

He peeks out of the corner of his eye to consider Sakura, who is holding her elbows close and blushing. She notices his attention and glances up, but he quickly looks away, focussing on the space in front of them. Something nameless ripples lazily in the air, detectable only because of the Sharingan, but nothing happens. Turning to meet Sakura's stare, he's just in time to catch her looking quickly away, cheeks even darker than they were.

 _This is ridiculous._

The world is ending, and yet they might as well be playing footsie. One of them is going to have to address the issue, or else agree to ignore it, but right now is not the time to be unfocussed. Resigning himself to the unnecessary and uncomfortable conversation, Sasuke opens his mouth to speak –

"So."

Apparently Sakura has decided to be the one who breaks the silence.

"So…" Sasuke repeats nonsensically, pinning his eyes to the space in front of them.

Another pause.

"Well…at least she didn't get my hair," Sakura says brightly, but there is a note of effort there. Her lighthearted joke comes off as nervousness.

Sasuke isn't sure what to say to that and eventually replies with a, "Hm."

"She got my forehead, though," she continues regretfully. "Sorry."

Sasuke's eyebrows draw together, and before he can stop himself he turns to stare at her, puzzled. "What's wrong with your forehead?"

Sakura gapes at him, falters for a moment as if she's forgotten, and then quickly looks away again.

"It's huge," she informs him, again, apologetically.

"Oh." He really has no idea what to say here. He never thought foreheads were something that girls worried about. Is that even a thing? "I hadn't noticed."

"R-really?" she is staring at him again now, wide-eyed and hopeful sounding.

 _Why the hell does that make her so happy. Did I miss something?_

He doesn't understand girls and the way their minds work, or even how he got roped into talking about Sakura's looks. Is she expecting him to say something nice to her about her appearance?

 _That's how this sort of thing works, right?_

At least that's what snippets of conversation around the Academy would have him believe. But that seems silly and contrived to him. What use is complimenting a person's looks, especially in the life of a shinobi? Injury can easily rob someone of good looks, and age takes care of the rest.

Sasuke casts his mind back, glossing over the festering wounds of his memory, trying to recall a time before. When his family was whole, and when certain social behaviours were actually the norm. He seems to recall Itachi—and his chest burns painfully at the thought—offering Mother quiet compliments about her appearance. In the years since he lost her, Sasuke has idealised his mother into a paragon of beauty, and he knows that according to clan standards she was considered attractive. She was humble too—Sasuke remembers her fervent denials of Itachi's compliments, even if she was obviously heartened by them.

Father never made any indication he'd even noticed Mother's looks. Any time he had anything praiseworthy to say about her, when he said anything at all, it was usually in reference to her skills. About how fast she had flown through the ranks when they were young, or her talent for _shurikenjutsu_. How well she managed the clan when he was away on business.

Father's method of praise, what Sasuke fought so hard to achieve himself, makes much more sense to him than approving of something as fleeting and unearned as a physical attribute.

He decides to try his hand at that.

"It's irrelevant," he tells her. "Looks are useless to a shinobi. Intelligence is the important thing. And…well. You have that."

Sakura's shoulders slump. "Oh."

Sasuke frowns.

 _Did I do that wrong?_

Despite reassuring her, his words seem to have upset her. Which again, makes no sense. And bothers him, because—well, this is his future wife.

"And you're…kind," he says, trying again. "In this world…there aren't many people who can be like that, without some kind of hidden motive. That's also important."

Which is true. He might not have a use for that kindness, and he privately thinks that in the world of shinobi kindness is a luxury, but it's still something that is rare and ought to be protected. Even if, as he's learned over the past day or so, it can't be.

Before today, Sasuke never considered the fact that Sakura might actually become a great shinobi. Her presence on their team always just felt like a way of counterbalancing his and Naruto's skills. And yet, now that he thinks about it, it's not the first time Sakura has extricated herself from their attempts at shielding her and thrown herself into danger.

"What you did…before…" he begins, unsure how to ask this, but dreading the idea of another long awkward silence.

"When?" Sakura asks, and her voice is closer. She's inched a little closer to him, probably to hear him better, but he doesn't check to make sure. Instead, Sasuke keeps his eyes fixed firmly on the shifting air in front of them.

"With Mumyōi," he clarifies. "You were going to…with the explosive…" He trails off, surprised to find it difficult to vocalise. "Why would you do that?"

He chances a look at her—she's still closer now—and notices the puzzled expression.

"Um…because she's our daughter?"

"You didn't know that then."

"Well, no, not at the time…but I knew she was yours," Sakura shrugs. "I knew she was important to you."

"So you'd kill yourself because something is important to me?" Sasuke repeats, blunt in his incredulity.

He's stopped pretending to scout the charged air in front of them now, and is trying to read Sakura's face. It has softened and she's looking at him now the way he imagines he looks at most people: as if he is simpleminded and missing something of utmost significance.

"Sasuke…" she begins, biting her lip like she's deciding on the exact words to say. Something fiery enters her eyes then, and her shoulders square with resolve. "I would give anything to protect your happiness. Because…you are the person that is most precious to me."

Sasuke can't help the way his eyes widened at this.

Because he knew, or guessed, that Sakura felt so strongly for him. It's one of the worst kept secrets, one of those facts they just don't really bring up. But the way Sakura's words echo with an absolute, unquestionable certainty.

Somehow, he didn't expect that. As such, he has no idea what to say to it.

Which is why he is more than grateful when there's a puff of smoke and suddenly Kakashi and Naruto are standing beside them again.

"Avoiding it isn't possible," their sensei says without preamble. "I think this charged area goes all the way around. Sort of like an inner ripple. The only way out of it is to pass through to the other side."

"It's like the bubble has more bubbles inside it," Naruto adds. "But I sent a clone through and it didn't get fried, so we're not going to get ripped apart by some kind of time storm." He scratches his chin. "At least I think that's what Kakashi-sensei said…"

"We've been lucky avoiding the windows so far, but if we go in there…" Sakura eyes the empty valley warily. "It's not going to be good."

"We knew that going in to this," Sasuke reminds her.

"Let's just hope whatever the time windows keep spewing out at us doesn't get out of the temporal bubble." Tsunade—and perhaps Kakashi's future self—must have their hands full containing the phenomenon and limiting the amount of temporal bleed-through.

He doesn't envy anyone that job.

"Alright, let's go. Slow and steady." Running through would just make it harder to avoid any potential windows opening up.

With the Sharingan users leading the way, Team 7 makes its way quickly but carefully along the empty, barren terrain.

A powerful tension washes over Kakashi and his students, not from the charged air, but their own wary expectation. If anything good can be said to come out of this experience, at least the kids are getting some decent practice in awareness.

 _Even though they've somehow got to forget it again…if we live._

As they reach the halfway point—in the distance Kakashi can sense the air calming—the world around them begins to shift. Sasuke swears and jumps to one side, as a human shaped figure appears in front of him only to disappear seconds later.

It's not the only one of its kind, either, they note when Sakura shrieks in shock, walking right through another fast-moving, flickering shape. More spectres flit in and out of existence around them; insubstantial and one moment, then gone the next.

Kakashi narrows his eyes, sensing the worst is about to happen.

"Run," he says. "See that cliff face over there, where the valley starts leading into the gorge? The air is clear there, we just have to—"

Which is the exact moment that all hell breaks loose.

There's no ostensible shift or warning. One moment they are alone but for the flickering images and figures, and the next the valley has been pitched into a battlefield.

The ominous sounds they heard before from the portals increase a hundredfold here. Blades clash and men scream as they die. The stench of smoke and dust clogs the air, along with the sickly-sweet smell of blood and other bodily fluids.

Sakura emits a horrified cry of surprise, and Kakashi instinctively reaches for the kids, pulling them close behind him. It's a futile gesture – there's nowhere for them to really hide, no raised parts of terrain to seek cover behind.

While that's a good thing—it means they are still in their time, in familiar terrain—it also leaves them depressingly open. Arrows rain down from the sky as the four of them press their backs to each other, everyone trying to keep track of the sudden change in circumstance.

Someone screams a wordless cry, and from above a figure in armour bears down on them with what appears to be a yari or a naginata.

Kakashi moves faster than the blink of an eye, shifting to one side and grabbing the wood staff section of the weapon. Using the momentum, he throws the unsuspecting wielder over their heads, causing him to land several feet away. He's barely recovered his bearings, when another enemy comes at them, wildly swinging a sword. This one is clad is clad in different colours—different regalia from the first attacker.

 _Great. So everyone here has decided we're the enemy_.

Sasuke can sort of sympathise with that; his first reaction to random people popping up out of nowhere is to attack first and ask questions later. But as he dives low, swiping the feet out from beneath the man with the sword, he wonders how stupid people must be not to notice they've spontaneously changed locations.

"We need to get to the edge of this!" Kakashi shouts. "Toward the edge of the canyon, quick as you can! And keep an eye out for—"

He is cut off by another sword attack, which he fends off with a hastily raised shuriken, locking the hilt of the sword between its points.

"Damn it! There's too much happening here!" Naruto yells, backing toward Sakura. Out of the corner of his eye he notices Sasuke doing the same, both of them unconsciously agreeing to ensure her safety while Kakashi fends off the attacks from behind them. "There's no room to move, nowhere to— _augh!"_

Something punches through his leg and Naruto glares down at the arrow shaft that is suddenly sticking out of his thigh.

"Naruto!" Sakura cries.

"At this rate, we're not getting out of here," Sasuke growls, knocking another arrow out of the air as it heads for them.

"Yes we will!" Sakura insists. "We have to!"

"Unless you have some sort of plan—"

"Give me a second…"

"We don't _have_ a—"

" _Give me a second!"_

Sakura's thoughts race as fast as her eyes can take in the details.

 _Ancient armour—so Warring States, but not shinobi. Weaponry is bulkier, more for force than stealth, and the style of it: yari and katana and those long-range bows? Samurai. That could give us the advantage if we can catch them off guard—hard to do with so many attacking us from all sides, but—_

"We need a distraction!" she realises.

Kakashi is way ahead of her. "Sasuke, you and I will clear a path!Sakura, you bring up the rear and watch our blind spots. We find an opening, and we take it."

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" Naruto demands.

"We're shinobi. Disappearing is what we do."

"The last time I checked neither Sakura nor Naruto can perform _Shushin_ over the range we'd need to travel," Sasuske argues as they duck another volley of incoming arrows. Naruto waylays one of the charging men in armour. "It'd be useless to try that right now, or we might end up running into the path of an arrow."

"Again!" Naruto grunts, landing a savage kick on one of the dazed Samurai that Kakashi inadvertently sends their way.

"So we distract the archers," Sakura says. "Naruto—?"

"Sure, I love being the pincushion," he complains. "Why not do it a couple hundred times?"

A hand sign later, and several dozen shadow clones surround them, dispersing throughout the entire stretch of fighting.

"See if you can see a way out for us, too!" Sakura reminds him; with the way the world has shifted, she doesn't even know which direction they would have to flee in.

"Hey! You jerks!" several orange-clad figures bellow to the edge of the field where the archers are. "Betcha can't hit me! _Nyah-nyah_!"

Sakura smirks.

The drawback to bows is that archers don't really expect people to just show up and punch them in the face.

No longer having to worry about a rain of arrows from above, her teammates can focus on the more immediate threats. Kakashi continues to deal with the close-range, katana wielding corps, while Sasuke faces down the ones wielding yari. The staff-like weapons are a pain for him to defend against, especially considering one well-placed swipe might take off his skull. However, with a few clever applications of wire and shuriken, he manages to deflect the intended blows and knock them into one another. It leaves Sakura to deal with a nearby samurai wielding a huge kanabo—a club strong enough to shatter femur bones if it connects.

She's fast enough to dodge, and he knows she's talented enough to destabilise her opponent now that they've created the room, but—

"Sasuke, go!" she yells at him as she jumps back to avoid the club. "We need to get out of here!"

As he ventures forward, Sakura creates three clones of herself, forcing the kanabo wielder to pause in surprise at the sight. Taking advantage of his uncertainty, she lunges forward, her clones going for the obvious weakness in his armour, inside the knee and around the groin area. While he moves to defend those, she aims a powerful blow to the space just near his armpit, shoving a burst of chakra as she does.

The man shouts in pain, losing his grip on the kanabo, which she clumsily grabs hold of and swings at his face.

"Hah!" she grunts out as the club connects. His helmet will absorb most of the blow, but it'll still knock him out.

Flushed with her success, she doesn't see the soldier on the horse.

Even Sasuke doesn't see it, doesn't register the sound of thundering hooves until it's too late. Before either of them can react, Sakura is no longer crouched near him, but being dragged away by mounted warrior.

"Sakura!" Sasuke yells after her, although the shout is lost in the din of battle. He begins to spring after her, but a firm hand grasps him by the shoulder and whirls him around.

"Stick with Naruto!" Kakashi orders. "He found a way out, go with him and I'll get Sakura."

"No," Sasuke growls, struggling free. "I've got to make sure—"

"I will not let anything happen to her," Kakashi insists, his voice leaving no room for argument. He is already scanning the rest of the field for the telltale sign of pink.

It's a measure of how smoky the air is that he needs the Sharingan to do so.

Farther and farther away, Sakura is being pulled through the air in the roughest way imaginable.

Pain like she's never experienced assaults her—tearing, white-hot agony rippling through her, as if every hair follicle is on fire. Her body is close—too close—to powerful, muscular legs and the rumbling sound of hooves. As she and her captor move, her flailing limbs knock into soldiers that are still fighting on the ground, unable to duck out of the way of this sadistic cavalryman.

He _has_ to be a sadist, because if he had any kind of smarts or battle acumen, he'd not have stopped to drag her with him, but cut her down where she stood.

 _That's right, think past the pain! Shannaro!_

Being skewered isn't completely off the table, however, and if she doesn't escape it could still happen. She can't reach her kunai, but that's fine. her hand is still wrapped in a death grip around the kanabo she took. One good swing, even if she runs to risk of braining herself, means she can get free.

 _Alright—three, two—_

"LET ME GO!" she snarls, swinging the club upward, targeting the place where the man's armour doesn't cover. There's a howl of pain as the weapon connects and his elbow shatters. The horse veers into her as her captor loses control, and Sakura is abruptly on the ground.

Immediately as she hits the dirt, she pulls up her arms to protect her head and spine, as the thundering hooves go over her head. She tucks and rolls, not allowing herself to stop until the hoofbeats are gone.

Sakura staggers to her feet, tears across her face and clutching her head. She knows she has to get moving, get back to her team, but she is disoriented by pain and an odd vertigo. It feels like ground and sky have shifted, taking her centre of gravity with them. Behind her, a wordless battle cry fills the air, becoming louder and closer. She whirls around, just as a man with a sword begins to stab forward.

The blow never arrives. The yell cuts off, lost in the sound of an elbow crushing the larynx.

Sakura blinks up uncertainly at the dark figure disarming another would-be-attacker, deftly avoiding the path of the blade headed for him and sending his opponent flying.

Her jaw drops.

Amazing speed aside, her rescuer is one-handed, his long and empty shirt sleeve fluttering in this displaced air. Unlike everyone else here, he isn't dressed for battle. But most mystifying at all is the fact that once he has dealt with the closest threats, no other attacks appear imminent. Even the whistling sound of arrows through the sky are no longer reaching them.

Probably because surrounding them, obstructing the ongoing battle, is a very large, bluish-violet barrier that or some reason resembles a giant ribcage.

Sakura watches in amazement as the stranger effortlessly fends off the surrounding enemy. Although his attacks are effective, she notices that he is not striking to kill, only to stun or render unconscious. As he moves, she is able to get a better look at him, and the amazement quickly transforms into utter shock.

Missing arm or not, there is only one person she knows that moves like that. He might be significantly taller and his face a little hollower, but this is _Sasuke._

Sakura has barely made this connection when he turns to her, scooping her up and says, "Hold on."

She doesn't even question him, her arms automatically settling around his neck and shoulders. The glowing blue-violet ribcage retracts, and there's an eerie, amethyst flow from the left side of his face.

 _What happened to his eye –?!_

There's a pulling sensation behind her navel.

Sakura's mouth opens in a silent scream, her stomach flip-flopping as the world goes from one section of the battlefield to a completely different one.

"What the—?" she gasps, and then has to free one of her hands from their death-grip on this future Sasuke's shirt. She presses it against her mouth as her stomach revolts at the speed and sudden change of scenery.

 _What the hell was that? I can use_ Shushin _, but that…that was something completely different—!_

"Sakura!"

She turns her head, noticing Kakashi several feet away from them; the jōnin is physically holding on to Sasuke— _her_ Sasuke—from behind, while several Narutos fights off the surrounding enemy. Both Kakashi and Sasuke freeze upon seeing who Sakura is with, which gives one of the soldiers the real Naruto is dealing an opening. He raises his katana—

"Watch out!" Sakura shrieks, but the word gets lost in the rush of air and second shift in location.

Suddenly, she and her rescuer are standing behind her team; twenty feet away, the would-be-attacker finishes his downward swing, his sword cutting through the empty space where she and the Future Sasuke just stood.

"Did we just…switch places?" she asks, causing Kakashi and her Sasuke to whirl around, twin expressions of disbelief are on their faces.

There are no answers forthcoming. Instead, Future Sasuke gently puts Sakura on her feet and snatches his remaining arm outward, grabbing Naruto close—his clones instantly dissipate—and snaps, "No one move!"

The world around them crackles and whirls, and suddenly a portal opens up around them. There's a howling wind and a rush of cold, and the battlefield is abruptly gone. Instead, an endless snow scape surrounds them, free of the immediate dangers of enemy soldiers. Icey cliffs tower over them, with deadly sharp icicles hanging downward, and the air has a sharp, bitter taste to it that Sakura have never experienced.

"The dimensional seepage isn't as bad on this plane," the older Sasuke says, plodding ahead through the knee-deep snow. "We can by-pass the temporal ripple you got caught in without any of you getting killed." When no one moves to follow him—everyone is too stunned with realisation at just who this is—he shoots an unimpressed glare over his shoulder. "Unless you want to get stuck here, you'll stay close to me. I'm the only one who can get us back."

Which, given the bone-deep cold surrounding them right now, is just as good an argument as any. Team 7 rush to keep close to this adult Sasuke, each one fighting off the urge to question him, no one able to look away from him. Even Kakashi is silent, taking the measure of this man who is so familiar yet an utter stranger to him.

 _Well, he grew up in an interesting way…_

Before their awed gazes, Future Sasuke once again uses that amethyst eye of his, and the snowy world is bisected by another circular portal. He stands back, waiting for them all to file through, and then allows it to dissipate behind him.

Sakura, barely daring to breathe, glances around her warily.

It's their own world again—at least she thinks so, the air tastes right—but they are not trapped in an all-encompassing battlefield. It appears they've been spat out deeper into the valley, at the mouth of canyon, with walls of rock that begin to get higher the farther in they go. The sounds of warfare continue to echo from far away, though, and it's likely a matter of time before the fighting reaches here as well.

Future Sasuke suddenly staggers forward, coughing and choking. Something wet splatters on the ground, and a metallic scent hits the air.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cries out, reaching out to him without even a thought. It doesn't matter that this is the older version, it's Sasuke. He's hers; will be hers. In fact—glancing up at the younger version, who is watching the entire scene with an astonished expression—Sakura has an odd, otherworldly presentment.

That all Sasukes are her – the young, the old, the good and the bad.

She's not even sure what that means, but there's a heavy weight of truth to it that makes her shiver. As the younger Sasuke slowly meets her gaze, she wonders if he can feel it to.

"Don't worry about me," Sasuke's future self says quietly, gently shrugging her away and wiping blood from his lips. "It's a strain to move through space and time when the dimensions are so torn. I'll recover." His left eye is shut tightly now, hiding that strange eye of his. "But it will take some time before I'm able to do that again."

"Then why waste it on us?" Sasuke blurts out.

His older self gives him a look as if he's just dribbled on his shirt, and then straightens up to study Sakura. The lone black eye appears to be assessing her, but whether it's for injuries or to determine her strength, it's unclear. Whatever he's looking for, he appears satisfied, because he returns his attention to his younger self and demands expectantly, "Where is Sarada?"

Young Sasuke balks at this, unable to find the words. Sakura, too, tries to say something, but ends up simply mouthing wordlessly. Naruto continues to openly gaping at their rescuer, his jaw in danger of popping out of its socket.

The kids are stunned, their brains struggling to catch up with what's happened. Even Kakashi is a little uncertain, but he knows _this_ Sasuke won't tolerate an excuse.

"On her way to stop all of this," Kakashi tells him. "We think."

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	27. Chapter Twenty-Three

"You _think_ ," Future Sasuke repeats, tone deceptively soft. Kakashi imagines many a poor soul has mistaken that softness for calm. Instead, he finds the hairs on the back of his neck raising, the same way they might in proximity of a dangerous predator.

It's not a bad reaction to have, given what he just saw the man do. And, considering he's pretty sure he knows what Future Sasuke's closed eye now hides.

 _That was a Rinnegan. Those are supposed to be extinct, if they were anything beyond myth. So how the hell did_ Sasuke _end up with one?_

"It's a long story," he says instead. "The short version is we separated from Konohamaru and his team a while back. The most prudent thing to do was to get out of the time-bubble and minimize the paradox. We tried to get Sarada to come with us, but…well." Kakashi shrugs here. "She's your daughter. Do you really think she was going to let us drag her out of here when her teammates are busy trying to save the world?"

"No," Future Sasuke says, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

Kakashi can't help his mouth twitching slightly at this. "I take it it's not a surprise th—"

"Bastard!" someone shouts from above them, and Kakashi and his students immediately tense up, expecting another attack. Instead, they see three figures skidding down the walls toward them.

Three surprisingly familiar figures.

The three genin gasp, and Kakashi knows if he wasn't more in control of himself, he'd do the same.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, just disappearing like that?" the shouter continues. He stalks forward, blue eyes narrowed in annoyance and whiskers bristling with every step. "One minute you're dragging us in here, and the next you're opening up a portal _and leaving us behind_! What the hell kind of stupid—?!" The diatribe trails off as a clearly adult Naruto seems to notice exactly which group of people are standing beside his friend, because he goes quiet. "Oh."

 _Oh_ is as good a descriptor as any. It's not as if a situation like this one happens every day.

In a slow, utterly unconscious movement, Kakashi watches as his students, past and future, move directly in front of one another as if they are approaching a particularly powerful funhouse mirror. No one appears to completely comprehend what faces them.

Future Naruto, still resplendent in bright orange but whose chakra dwarfs all of them like a burning pyre, smiles down at his younger self with something like nostalgia. Young Naruto gapes outright, jaw hanging and one finger pointing in disbelief. Yet again, he remains stunned beyond speech.

The two Sasukes regard each other warily. The spectacle resembles two rival wolves sizing each other up, which makes no sense considering they are essentially the same person. Kakashi's student appears to still be taking in every aspect of his older self—the missing arm, the black eye which once showed the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the other which holds the Rinnegan—and clearly doesn't know what to make of the man who is obviously a formidable warrior. The Sasuke who saved them from the battlefield, however, gazes down at his younger self with an expression that is too hard to read. It's as if he is looking at something long forgotten and which causes him great discomfort.

Sakura, the one who is mother to Sarada, holds herself entirely differently than Kakashi is used to seeing. And that rhombus shape on her forehead, if he's not mistaken, is Tsunade's _Byakugo_. Suddenly Sarada's capabilities make so much more sense, and Kakashi experiences a wave of pride for his lone female student.

The woman bites her lips as she studies her younger self. It appears she's holding back a smile that she isn't sure is appropriate, but her eyes shine like she's rediscovered an old photo or treasured keepsake. Young Sakura, on the other hand, clutches her hands to her chest, cheeks slightly pink as she considers the woman in front of her uncertainly. Even though they are clearly the same person—the pink hair kind of makes that obvious—she can't believe the woman in front of her is _her_.

And then there's…

"Hinata?" the younger Naruto demands, finally recovering from his temporary muteness. His attention slides from his adult self to the diminutive figure that lingers beside him. "Is that…? Wait—why's Hinata here?"

"Hello, Naruto," the older version of Hinata murmurs, her voice still as soft and kind as she is in this time. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"Uh…yeah…" the boy says, unsure what to say, because it occurs to him that this is _his wife_. He has a wife. He knew he was going to have a wife, considering he met his kid, but somehow he just fully accept what that meant.

"And Boruto?" Hinata goes on, earnest yet with a mettle to her that Kakashi has never sensed about her before. It appears his students aren't the only ones who will undergo great change. "Have you seen him?"

"Yeah, he…he was fine last time I checked," Naruto replies uncomfortably. Those pale eyes meet his unflinchingly, in a way that the Hinata of his time has never done. He wonders if she can't see down to the very core of him, demon fox and all.

Well, she must, considering she marries him, right? She must know.

And yet she's still gazing at him, eyes filled with some emotion he has no name for. He thinks he's seen hints of whatever it is before, maybe from Iruka, but never from anyone else. And never so strong as this.

Naruto feels like this is a look he should recognise, but for the life of him, can't.

She leans over, bringing herself down to his height, and he of course blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

"Whoa! You filled out!"

The dark-haired woman's cheeks flood with colour, and the adult version snaps, "Oi! Don't stay stuff like that!" before smacking his young self upside the head.

"Oi!"

 _Crude or not, it's true._

Kakashi can't help agreeing with his student's ill-timed observation. The heiress to the Hyūga has definitely _developed_ , even though she's still modestly dressed as ever compared to the adult version of Sakura, who seems to have no problem showing off a _very_ toned physique and much more developed—

 _I am going to hell._

Kakashi had already sort of resigned himself to that fact, however he thought it would be due to sins accumulated as a shinobi. Even if, at the moment, both women are technically older than him, they are still married…to his adorable students. One of them _was_ one of his adorable students.

 _Yes, I am_ definitely _doing to hell._

"Where's your Kakashi?" young Sasuke asks, narrowing his eyes at his older self.

"Not with us."

The jōnin releases a breath he didn't realise he was holding. He is relieved he won't have a run-in with his future self; despite Sarada's assurances that he has done well for himself, he has enough trouble looking in the mirror some days. It would be even worse to have his older-self staring back at him.

Especially given his less than respectable thoughts just now…

"Why's Old Kakashi not here?" Naruto demands.

"Even if we succeed here, there's always the possibility of dying in the process," Future Sasuke says. "There must be someone back in Konoha to look to for leadership should the worst happen."

"Right…I forgot that he was Hokage," the younger Naruto muses. He perks up. "Hey, Old Me! Does that mean you're gonna be the next Hokage? I mean, you've got an in with the big boss man now, right?"

Future Naruto opens his mouth to answer, and then abruptly scowls. "I'm not old!"

Hinata hides a giggle, earning a sour look from her husband.

"You so are! I think I see a little grey in your hair!"

"At least I look like I've taken a bath in the last week!"

"Yeah, whatever, Gramps!"

"Why you little—I'm gonna—"

"Dear, you can't kill your past self," Hinata reminds him quietly. "That would probably not be a good idea."

"Yeah, well, I'd have it coming," the older Naruto mutters, crossing his arms and pouting—a gesture perfectly mirrored by his young self.

Young Naruto sticks his tongue out him, feeling inexplicably threatened by this future version. The agitation stems from somewhere deep within him, and it takes him a moment to realise that the Nine-Tails is restless.

 _And…confused, I think_.

But thinking about it is making him dizzy, so he brushes it off in his usual manner. Instead, he jerks his attention away from him and decides to deal with something he at least knows. Sasuke, even an older Sasuke, is someone he knows how to talk to.

"Well, old or not, at least it looks like I'm gonna be tall one day," he sniffs. "Hey, Sasuke! I think Old Me is taller than Old You!"

Adult Sasuke's visible eye twitches, while his younger self scoffs, "Tch. Get your eyes checked, idiot."

"Do you always have to start a fight?" Sakura hisses, eyes still flitting nervously up at her future self.

"Trust me, it doesn't change," the pink-haired woman says, mouth quirked in amusement. The soft expression fades a beat later, replaced with solemnity. "Where's Sarada?"

Sakura adopts a shamefaced expression.

"She ran off," she admits. "We were on our way to go to her, but then we got caught up in that battle over there and couldn't get out. I got separated from everyone else, but Sasuke—um, _your_ Sasuke—showed up—"

"How _did_ you show up?" Sasuke asks, and Future Sakura's attention shifts to him. "And how did you move us?"

Future Sakura's worried expression moves from Sakura to Sasuke, and softens; her mouth pulls into a smile.

"Oh, darling, look!" she breathes as she stares at the younger version of her husband.

Sakura and Sasuke's eyes snap to one another in identical incredulity.

 _Darling?!_

"Sakura…" Future Sasuke begins.

But before anyone can stop her, the woman has reached out and pulled Sasuke into her arms. "I forgot how cute you were!"

Future Sasuke sighs, for all intents and purposes looking resigned, but those with sharp eyes can see the barest trace of pink dusting across his cheeks in the darkness.

Kakashi can't help be fascinated. It's one thing to hear about, but entirely another to actually _see_.

Meanwhile, Sasuke stands rigid in the woman's embrace, eyes wide and spine straight. He has no idea what to do. He doesn't like to be touched or hugged, but he tolerates Sakura. And this _is_ Sakura, his future wife, and it's been so very, very long since someone held him like this. A warm, protective hug, conveying no expectation that he might shrug it off.

In danger of relaxing into the embrace, Sasuke sends a panicked look at his Sakura, who watches the entire exchange, bemused. She is torn between finding the tableau adorable and being supremely jealous because someone else is holding Sasuke.

Even if it is her future self.

Thankfully, Sasuke's body provides him with an excuse to get away, as pain lances through him. Seeing his wince, Future Sakura pulls away, face falling. She takes in the barely closed wounds across Sasuke's chest, the most their mediocre healing materials could deal with.

"Oh! You're hurt!" She spreads a palm across his chest, green healing chakra flowing from her fingers. "We can't have that! And that goes for all of you! Get over here and let me help you."

"We'd appreciate it," Kakashi says, amused to see his normally stoic student's face begin to turn a very uncharacteristic shade of pink. "It's been, ah, an interesting day."

Future Sakura smirks. "I'll bet. You're a trouble magnet, Kakashi-sensei. I don't think there's ever been a Hokage that faced as many crises as you did."

"And trust me, that's saying something," Future Naruto says.

He strides forward, grinning at Kakashi.

Beyond what Kakashi noticed earlier, there are stark differences to this Naruto. He is obviously more mature, both in body and in temperament. He has the air of a father about him, or at least the air Kakashi remembers from his own father. And then there's the other thing.

The bearing of a man who has taken responsibility, who guards the well-being of hundreds, if not thousands of people. A man who has made hard decisions, seen great joy and great loss. And Kakashi abruptly knows, without having to even be told, that Naruto grew up to achieve his dream after all.

There's nothing else to do but put his hand out to his future former student. "It looks like you've done well for yourself, Naruto."

The future Hokage laughs awkwardly, takes Kakashi's hand with his own bandaged one, and rubs the back of his head with the other. "Well, my predecessor hammered a few lessons into my head. Both literally and figuratively. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Oh, I doubt I'm the only one who can take credit for that."

They both turn their attention to where the younger Naruto, utterly oblivious to their conversation, continues to peek at Hinata like he can't figure out if she's real or not.

"Would you like me to heal your wounds?" she offers him shyly. "I'm not as talented as Sakura, but I've still learned enough to be able to make a difference."

Still stunned, and cheeks turning pink, Naruto simply nods and lets the woman reach out her hand. She presses it lightly over the scabbed wounds that Mumyōi put in his shoulder. A cool, soothing chakra flows through him, soothing the raw skin and muscles. His own ability to heal has been stretched to its limit today, and this unexpected help is appreciated.

"Do you…uh…do this a lot?" he asks nervously, not completely sure what he's supposed to say to Hinata.

She doesn't appear put off, and the gentle smile doesn't go away. "Surprisingly, I've never had to."

Again, Naruto doesn't know what to say to that, and so he babbles. "So, if you're all here for your kids, does that mean Future-Orochimaru is here, too?"

"Yeah," Sakura pipes up. "Maybe we can ask future-him to get rid of Sasuke's mark! He's, like, a good guy now, right?" In a quieter tone she mutters, "It's the least he could do since he put it there to begin with…"

"It's a little more complicated than that," Future Sakura says, coming over to kneel in front of her former self.

"Why's that?" Sasuke asks.

"It means it's complicated," his future self says shortly. "Besides, we can't remove it. It has to stay there."

Sasuke snorts and crosses his arms. "Fine, it's not like I care. But having a Sannin on our side today might be helpful."

"What, four legends aren't good enough?" Future Naruto demands. "Trust me, you should be glad this thing is happening far away from where the old snake is hanging out. We may have an understanding, but that doesn't mean I want the power-hungry maniac anyway near time-travel. Questionable morality aside, I don't want to imagine what kind of damage he could do."

Future Sasuke says nothing to defend or refute the statement, but his past self stares at Future Naruto suspiciously.

"Did you just use the phrase 'questionable morality aside' and actually know what it means?" he asks.

Future Sasuke makes a sound that sounds suspiciously like amusement, while Future Naruto growls at them both.

"Seriously? That's the part of that whole thing you focussed on?! You are so lucky I don't beat up kids…"

"Pretty sure I could take you…"

Sakura sighs in frustration and looks away from her teammates past and present and turns to her own future self. "Maybe one of them should have stayed home."

"Seems like it, huh?" Future Sakura says with a rueful smile. She is utterly at ease as she fixes the bruises and scratches on her younger self. "There wasn't much of a choice in that, though. You'll get that one day. Sukō showed up—literally on Sasuke's head—and told us about the trouble. We should have known, I mean, it is our kids, so we went to get Naruto right away. And, of course, Hinata insisted on coming along too."

"Which was a good thing," Future Sasuke points out. "There are too many dimensions beginning to superimpose on one another. Sensing chakra signatures right now is next to impossible."

Kakashi physically startles at that, realising that now that it's been mentioned, he can barely sense Jikken. It's as though the trace he left on him is coming through deep water or thick mud.

"Unless you're biologically geared toward sensing chakra," Future Naruto finishes, a bragging note in his voice. "Hinata's been keeping us on track. It's how we're going to find the center of whatever's going on and deal with it."

"Especially since the world in here is completely wrong," Hinata says grimly. "The stars, land markers…things are moving around the longer this phenomenon is active. I'm surprised you were able to get out of that battlefield, Sasuke. The way things are now, you're extremely lucky you didn't end up somewhere or some _time_ completely different."

"We're not at that point yet. Soon, though," Future Sasuke says. "People and places from other times are beginning to solidify here. Likely they're competing with all times and places on a subatomic level and whatever's strongest is winning out."

"That's what happened to us just now!" Sakura gasps. "We were travelling, and then suddenly there was a war going on around us!"

"And that's why you disappeared without warning?" Future Naruto asks his friend, mild repudiation in his tone.

"Sakura was in danger," Future Sasuke replies simply and utterly unbothered.

His wife frowns at this. "I was right beside you."

And although she doesn't say it, everyone here's the silent _and I can take care of myself_ at the end of her sentence.

"He means me," Sakura speaks up quietly. "But how did you know? Naruto—Future Naruto said only Hinata could still sense chakra right now."

Future Sasuke's expression tightens, becoming grimmer.

"Because," he says quietly, "I'm beginning to remember."

There's a beat of stunned silence.

"What do you mean, you're beginning to remember?" Future Naruto asks, his brows drawing together in confusion. "Remember what?"

"All of this," his friend replies. "It's still very fragmented, but I remember today happening. From a different vantage point."

His gaze falls on his younger self, frowning. Sasuke feels very much like he is being judged and found wanting. In fact, he gets the sense that his older self may, for some unknown reason, feel ashamed of him.

He opens his mouth to demand what the hell is the guy's problem, but the man turns away right then and says, "Time is blurring. It's possible my close proximity to my younger form is causing it. We share the same mind and soul. That may be causing an overlap and merging of memories."

"How is that possible?" his wife asks. "It would be happening to all of us, wouldn't it? But I can't remember a thing."

"Neither can I," Future Naruto adds.

"Or whatever sealed everyone's memories in the first place was made deliberately weaker in order to give Sasuke an opportunity to intervene exactly when he needed to," Kakashi suggests.

"What exactly do you remember?" Hinata inquires.

"Sakura was dragged off somewhere. I tried to reach her, and then I saw myself— _this_ self—appear just in time to intervene," Future Sasuke explains.

"So you knew you were _going_ to save me, which meant you _had_ to save me, so you knew how to _find_ me to save me," Sakura says, screwing up her face. "Does anyone else have a headache?"

Both Narutos raise their hands.

"Wait a minute," Future Sakura interrupts, although she doesn't pause the steady stream of healing chakra that she focusses into Kakashi's chest, "that doesn't make sense at all. You shouldn't be able to remember anything."

"Why not?" Sakura asks. "Most memory techniques are only temporary anyhow. Even the strongest would begin to give way over time."

"Exactly. What's happening right now is huge, too big for a regular Memory Block or Memory Erasure Technique to just hide. Unless the memories were expunged completely, something would trigger us to recall them at some point. Especially considering all the stuff that's going to happen to you guys in the next few years." She glances at Kakashi. "You would never take that risk. You would do a full sealing. At most, the memories might peek through in dreams, but they'd never fully manifest."

"Unless it isn't a common memory technique at all," Sasuke realises slowly, his mind racing at the abilities he's seen his older self display. Snippets of what he's heard his brother is capable of—what he has _experienced_ him being capable of. "It's entirely possible that what hides our memories is just a very strong genjutsu."

"A genjutsu that would have to be cast by someone strong enough to change the memories of even someone _possessing_ such vast chakra reserves that they might be able resist it," Future Sasuke finishes, and this time it's Naruto that finds himself under his scrutiny.

 _No, wait…it's not just me!_

Future Sasuke isn't just looking at him, he's looking at the Nine-Tails within him.

 _Wait a minute, he can_ see _you?!_

There is no answer except for a suspicious growl; for once the fox demon doesn't seem to have anything to say. In fact, a tense, wary silence radiates from that dank, dark place within Naruto's soul. A wave of emotions radiate from the cage—anger, frustration, confusion, curiosity—and the beast can't seem to settle on just the one.

Naruto can't help feeling some of that himself, especially considering the older version of Sasuke has been so careful not to reveal the existence of the Nine-Tails to everyone else. At this point keeping secrets is kind of useless, but it's as if this Sasuke somehow understands why Naruto still wants to keep it to himself.

It's like at some point he might actually become a decent human being.

 _I wonder how hard I have to punch him before he gets this new personality…_

"That's everyone," Future Sakura announces, interrupting those thoughts. She straightens up from where she's just finished treating Kakashi, cracking her knuckles and then stretches. Then she frowns over at her husband. "Well, almost everyone."

She strides over to Future Sasuke and without preamble sets her hands on either side of his face. Her jaw set in concentration, the mark upon her forehead begins to glow. Seconds later, a winding ribbon of black moves down her face and wraps around her arms, and inexplicably connecting with his skin as well. It stretches beneath the collar of his shirt, and presumable down across the rest of his body.

Future Sasuke's eyes shut in a grimace, his entire form braced as if against a powerful blow. Having had Naruto and Sasuke share their chakra with him, which wasn't exactly a painless experience, Kakashi recognises what she's doing immediately. Based on what he has seen of Sarada's strength and this Sakura's healing power, he can only imagine that getting a concentrated injection of chakra from her must be like being hit by a rolling boiler.

He's impressed Sasuke can take it without making even a sound of discomfort.

Eventually, Future Sakura pulls away, her mark receding, and her husband opens his eyes; the glowing purple eye is visible once more, and trained on her now in an aggrieved air. "You shouldn't have done that. You don't know what we might end up facing, you'll need all the chakra you have."

"You overtaxed the Rinnegan saving Past-Me's life. It's long overdue," she tells him with a cheeky smile. "Besides, _you_ don't know what we might end up facing either, so we need you in the best shape possible. And I've got more than enough chakra."

He adopts a put-upon expression and turns away from her; Sakura hears him mutter _annoying_ under his breath, but what stuns her is the obvious note of affection in the word.

Sasuke mirrors her reaction, completely unable to comprehend the absolute ease with which his future self interacts with his – _their_ \- wife. It's one thing to know that they will be married one day – to suspect that he will care for and respect his chosen spouse – but there's a subtle warmth in their interactions that Sasuke hasn't seen or experienced since his parents.

And when she turns around and he sees his family's insignia on her back—on the back of someone that isn't _him_ —it feels as if he can't breathe.

"Where did Konohamaru and the kids go?" Future Sakura asks, voice coming as if from far away.

"From what we've guessed, somewhere around here," Kakashi says, drawing out his bloodstained map of the area. He points out the part where the valley gorge begins climb into rocky hills and the small mountain chain. "Not that this does us much good if what Hinata said was true. But based on the information we have, it seems the most likely."

"And you just _happened_ to be heading in the same direction?"

Kakashi winces, because the gleam in Future Sakura's eyes is not amusement. "'Happened' is sort of a strong word."

"And what word would you use?"

"Don't get mad at Kakashi-sensei, I didn't give him a choice," Sakura interrupts, causing Kakashi to wince again and Future Sasuke to subtly shake his head 'no' behind his wife's back.

" _You_ didn't give him a choice?" Future Naruto repeats, missing the by-play.

"I'm the one in charge," Sakura says, putting her hands on her hips and trying to feel more confident than she is. "He was wounded and gave command of our mission to me."

Future Sakura's eye twitches, and Future Naruto points out, "Leaders are supposed to get their team _away_ from the danger, not run toward it."

"Yeah, and friends don't leave their friends behind!" Naruto interjects, coming to Sakura's defense. "It's the right thing to do, right Sasuke?"

Sasuke simply nods, narrowing his eyes in challenge at his future self.

Future Naruto sighs and shoots an annoyed look at Kakashi. "It's your fault we were always like this, you know."

"I was just encouraging leadership skills."

"Kakashi-sensei, there is a time and a place to encourage leadership skills, but that time is not when the world is about to implode on itself because of fluctuations in the time-space continuum! And especially not when the very existence of our children is at stake!" Future Sakura barks, a vein in her temple pulsing. "You're supposed to be the adult here, _shannaro_!"

"I dunno what exactly she's expecting from a guy that skips training to read porn," Naruto mutters to himself.

"Yeah, you'd think she'd be used to it after twenty years," his older self agrees.

"Don't antagonise her, dear," Hinata reminds both of him quietly. "I'm not very happy with Kakashi-sensei myself right now."

"Uh…right…" The orange-clad man immediately adopts a look of contrition.

Future Sakura balls up her right fist, clearly considering the merits of punching Kakashi into the surrounding rock-face but is stopped by her husband's hand on her shoulder.

"Killing him right now would be counter-productive."

"…Fine. But you can bet your ass I'm gonna kill him when we get home!"

Kakashi swallows. It's possible that there might be an upside to winking out of existence if it means avoiding _that_ beating.

"Let's, erm, get back on task," he agrees hurriedly, indicating the map once more. "I'm not exactly sure where exactly we're all headed. According to maps and surveys, there's nothing in this area. At least, not in our time."

"Yes, there is, if you know where to look," Future Sasuke says.

"What do you mean?"

Future Sasuke indicates a point just below the slope of the mountain. "There's an old Uchiha family stronghold here. Secret. Accessible only to those who know where it is, and who possess a Sharingan that can get them inside."

Kakashi doesn't ask how he knows this or why the Uchiha would need a stronghold. That's a conversation best left for another day.

"But if only someone with a Sharingan can get in, then that would only mean you or Sarada," Future Naruto says. "There's no one left alive who could do that."

Sasuke grits his teeth at the final confirmation that his brother truly is dead in this unbelievable future. The tight feeling in his chest intensifies.

Meanwhile, Sakura twitches uncomfortably. The meeting with Itachi, however brief and inexplicable, is still very much on her mind. She hopes he's woken up and gotten out of harms way before the bubble expanded. Or at least avoided getting eaten by some prehistoric monster from another time.

Then she blinks.

The world is truly crazy if she's concerned over the fate of a mass-murdering criminal.

"…it seems there's still a lot you guys don't know," Kakashi is saying.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke interrupts. "They know more than we do. Sarada said she got the information about all this from you." He glares at his future self suspiciously. "If anything, you should be telling _us_ what the hell is going on."

Future Sasuke's expression remains utterly, obviously blank. Alarm bells ring in Sakura's head and she quickly begins to stutter.

"Y-yeah, that's right! Sarada said she learned about _Teisōko Uchiha_ from you. But that you didn't know about her until around your time anyway and that's why she didn't say anything right away when all this started happening," she babbles nervously. "I bet there's a whole bunch of stuff about the Uchiha that _our_ you doesn't know yet, right?"

Sasuke's adult self holds her gaze very carefully, obvious calculation going on in his eyes that makes it clear he has no idea what she's talking about.

 _Damn it, I knew Sarada and I should have come up with a better story!_

"I mean, uh, you'd have to find it all out for yourself. Because no one else could possibly run into you to tell you about her. I mean, she was pretty clear about you and her being the only ones left who would know that sort of thing."

Her whole team is looking at her as if she's lost her mind; so are their future selves. Sakura wonders if she hasn't and wishes the ground would swallow her up. She's a bad liar to begin with, but when it means keeping information from Sasuke, she's even worse.

"Um, sorry, I'm just…this whole situation is so weird, okay? And…I'm a bit dizzy," she laughs nervously. "All the time shifting is getting to me. Because, you know, all of this is so weird and messing the world up. I mean, are _clouds_ supposed to be red like that? I don't think clouds are supposed to be _red_ …"

At which point Future Sasuke's eyes widen and he nods incrementally.

"You should sit down before you fall down," he tells her quiet.

"Hey, past-me is stronger than that," Future-Sakura protests, but she leans closer. "Although, it's possible I missed a concussion when I was healing you before…"

"Um…yeah, it's possible, I mean, I did almost blow myself up," Sakura agrees hurriedly, allowing the older woman to check her out once again.

But Sasuke is having none of it.

"What the hell is going on?" he demands, taking a step toward his future self. He knows the man is hiding something—after all, out of everyone here, Sasuke is the only one who can truly read the man's every facial expression and put the correct thought to it. "You're hiding something from me."

"It's nothing we can concern ourselves with right now," Future Sasuke maintains, his overt aloofness implicitly confirming Sasuke's suspicions.

"But it's something," he insists angrily. "Something you're keeping from me." He shoots Sakura a betrayed look. "And you know what it is, don't you?"

"I-I…"

"Leave her be," his older self dismisses.

"No. Sakura, tell me what's going on," Sasuke orders, unable to fight back the wild, inexplicable panic. He still can't breathe, and the only way he knows to deal with that helplessness is to fight, to go for the weak link, break the chink in his opposition and take it down—

She backs away from him, eyes wide. "S-Sasuke – your…your…"

She's pale and pointing at something beside his face, and it's then that he grows aware of the burning sensation in his neck.

He didn't even notice the curse mark begin to activate in reaction to his confused emotions. Just as he doesn't notice exactly when his future self moves, planting himself right in front of him and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

" _Stop_ ," the man orders, and Sasuke finds himself staring into mismatched eyes, the right one spinning into a six-pointed pattern he has never seen before.

"Sasuke!" he hears several people chorus.

"When this is over, I will answer your questions, but now is not the time," his future self states firmly. "Control yourself before you do something thoughtless."

"I _am_ in control," Sasuke insists angrily, although it occurs to him he's not sure what he's angrier about: having information being kept from him or the fact that _Sakura_ of all people is complicit in it.

Future Sasuke appears to sense his thoughts, because his eyes flash. Then, in a voice too low for anyone to hear, he hisses, "That girl is one of the main reasons you don't become something worse than the monster that destroyed the Uchiha. You haven't let that mark hurt her yet, don't allow it to now."

As the directive is given, Sasuke feels something settle over him: an artificial calm, almost an afterthought really. He knows it's genjutsu, and it should bother him, but it's bringing his heartrate back down and his breathing becomes easier. He feels the mark on his neck recede.

A beat later, his future self releases him, eyes still gleaming with warning.

Sasuke feels shaken, like something in him has shifted a few degrees on his axis. He blinks, trying to reorient himself from what just happened, and his gaze falls on Sakura. She has one hand clutched in front of her, like she wants to reach out for him but is holding back. For the first time that he can recall, he has the urge to apologise to her.

He tamps down on that. His mood might be influenced by the curse mark and the genjutsu, but he's not pleased with having information kept from him, even if he knows that right now isn't the time. He won't apologise for that.

Looking around, he once more becomes aware of the attention on him. Naruto and Kakashi are eyeing him warily, while the future shinobi appear knowing. That bothers him more than the attention itself.

"What?" he snaps defensively, causing at least Hinata to look away.

"Damn it," Future Naruto says quiet. "I didn't realise this you already had the curse-mark by now…that means…"

He and Future Sakura adopt identical grim looks. Sasuke feels his hackles rise again, which his future self notices.

"It's not our concern," he points out. "And as Sakura mentioned earlier, yes I have told Sarada some stories of the Uchiha." His tone is sombre. "Probably not the ones I should have, however. But this story is so old..." He closes his eyes, seemingly trying to focus.

Sakura wonders if he's straining against whatever has been holding his memories at bay, or if he actually does know a little about Teisōko.

 _It'd be nice if he could just remember how the hell we fix this situation, but I guess that's too much to ask…_

"The story is obscure. Records from long ago, that I didn't even know existed until I was a few years older than you," he tells his younger self. There is no lie there that anyone can detect.

"Wait… Teisōko," Future Sakura murmurs. "Wasn't that one of the names we found in the library in Suganuma when we were researching…?"

"Yes. The records were hard to find. Even harder to decipher, without certain…abilities."

"You mean that Mango Cute Sharingan, right?" Naruto pipes up, annoyed at being left out of the conversation.

Future Naruto sighs and says to Hinata, "You married me for my looks, didn't you?"

Future Sasuke proceeds to give a quick retelling of what he knows of Teisōko's existence. It sounds even more vague than what Sarada said to her, and Sakura can see the confusion on everyone's face as he tells it. She does her best to fill in everything that Sarada figured out, and by the darkening look on her future husband's face, he very quickly came to the same conclusions.

Future Naruto, too, looks forbidding.

"If this is all true, there's no way that you guys can be involved anymore," Future Naruto tells them, sounding genuinely rueful. "If something happens to you, we're all dead. So from this point on, you have to take cover somewhere safe."

The rest of the adults make noises of agreement.

"So you're basically telling us to sit on our butts and let you handle everything?" Sakura asks, somehow caught up short by this. It's the logical reaction, but at the same time, she didn't really expect it. "As if we're just children?"

"You _are_ just children," her older self says apologetically. When Sakura makes a face, the woman continues, "Sorry. Any other situation I'd be fully supportive. But I know myself. I remember being you, even if I don't remember all of this. And back then…Well, I know how strong your heart is. All of your hearts. But right now, you'd just get hurt."

"Hey, who cares if we get hurt! You're acting like we can't take a few punches!" Naruto counters. "You saw all that damage we took and are still standing! Come on!"

"We know you're strong, Naruto," Hinata says pleadingly. "You always have been. But one wrong move, and with the world being as unstable as it is right now…it's not a good idea. Please. _Please_ believe me when I say you are too important to risk. If you die now…so many people will die as well. Including me. Including our son, our daughter—"

" _Daughter?!"_ Naruto chokes, the wind momentarily taken out of his sails. "I have _two_ kids?"

Surprising as that is, Kakashi is more shocked by the fact Hinata managed all those words without stuttering once. Still, he moves beyond that, and says, "Listen. It's true that the kids need to stay somewhere safe. But you four might need an extra Sharingan, especially if this whole situation is caused by an evolved Sharingan technique. I can help you."

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei, you're just as important," Future Sakura apologises.

"Besides, we've got a lot of practice being impressive," Future Naruto boasts. "It's not like this is the first goddess we've been up against, believe it!"

Future Sasuke nods imperiously, making his younger self want to punch him.

"If you're so impressive, why are you missing an arm?" he challenges, only just managing to keep the petulant note from his voice.

Future Sasuke narrows his eyes at him. "Because I was an idiot. Something you should know a lot about."

Sasuke recoils a bit at that, while Sakura cries, "Hey!"

"You can't talk to yourself like that!" Naruto snaps. "Even if it is kind of funny, you're the grown-up here!"

And suddenly, somehow, it's the Team 7 of the past, standing united against their future selves, while Kakashi and Hinata look on.

 _I would be immensely proud if all this wasn't utterly surreal._

Future Sakura sighs and shakes her head, while Future Naruto sniggers. "I forgot what monumental pains in the ass we could be at that age."

"I never did," Future Sasuke replies, mouth pulling in a smirk; a second later it's gone, replaced with iron resolve. "Which is why I'm going to make sure you four sit this one out. For all our safety."

That's all the warning that they get before his Rinnegan begins to glow, and the world around them shifts. By the time the younger Team 7 realise what has happened, another portal has opened up around them. The valley gorge is gone, and Kakashi and his students are inexplicably standing all alone in the middle of a vast, endless desert.

Silence surrounds them, except for the dead whisper of sand being moved by the wind.

"Are you kidding?!" Sakura howls in frustration.

Kakashi blinks into the space that was just filled by his future students. "Alright… _that_ I wasn't expecting."

Naruto turns to his friend, uncharacteristically calm, and says, "I guess older you is still a dick after all."

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	28. Chapter Twenty-Four

"Oh, great, more underground," Boruto complains. "Because we didn't get enough of that before!"

Even knowing what they're getting into, it's hard to argue with Boruto's dismay at wandering into yet another subterranean lair. Sarada isn't sure about her teammates, but she's half-expecting a horde of curse marked monsters to come rushing out at them like what happened in the lab.

None materialise, though, and the only thing that overtakes them is unnatural silence.

"Well, come on," Konohamaru says. "The world won't save itself, hey."

Despite not having walked more than a few paces inside the hideaway, the glowing dawn light doesn't reach inside. Konohamaru is forced to break out a glow stick—his last one, it appears.

A long hallway stretches in front of them, columns lining the single path ahead. Glints of red shine out at her from the walls, words carved in that strange way that only she can see and whispering secrets to her that she has no time to stay behind to study.

She wonders if her father knows about this place.

The ground declines with every step they take, bringing them deeper into the…she isn't sure exactly what to call it.

Boruto appears to be of the same mind. "I feel like I'm walking through a tomb."

His eyes dart into every patch of shadow, and in the light cast by the glowstick, his face is ashen. Sarada can't help understand that. Her own eyes are sharp, aware of every minute shift in the air, but it's still nerve-wracking. Somehow, even though there aren't any twisting passages or hints of the mazelike fortress favoured by Orochimaru, she feels even more unsafe here.

And not just because at any moment a crazed experiment might realise they're here and jump out at them.

The air is warmer here, which is strange, and tastes oddly metallic. Not the metal of blood, though, but of steel and…something else. Sarada thinks it might be electricity, but she's never been close enough to a burst of lightning to know for sure.

Konohamaru suddenly stops, causing Boruto to walk right in him.

"Hey!"

"Quiet," their sensei orders, frowning in concentration. Sarada notices beads of sweat on his forehead, and knows that the poison in his system is beginning to make a resurgence. She knows better than to bring it up to him, but it doesn't make her stomach twist any less. "I think I…no, that's definitely…"

He picks up his pace, plodding ahead with intent.

"Hey! What the hell!" Boruto hisses, hurrying to catch up. He shoots a questioning look back to Sarada, who can only shrug, mystified.

"Just keep sharp," is the only reply that they get. It's the only thing that he does say for the next ten minutes, until they arrive in a towering, domed room.

 _No, room doesn't really do it justice. More like an amphitheater…_

The walls stretch upwards, curving into one another to form a giant dome overhead. It looks as if someone hollowed out the actual mountain they have wandered into. A spindly, rickety staircase juts out of the walls, leading to the top in a spiral. Crude scaffoldings have been built upon these, like makeshift storeys and grated slats form crude floors that obscure the upper levels somewhat. Still, Sarada can make out iron doors or panels lining the cave walls through the gaps in the metal.

There is an all-too familiar banging sound coming from behind these, almost obscured by the whir of machinery and sparking of stripped wires. The smell of burning rubber and rust mixes with the dank underground air, as well as the faint lightning smell of the crude electric lighting that has been set up along the entire stairway.

This may have once been an Uchiha stronghold, but it's been turned into the lair of a madman.

The sight is impressive, no doubt, and yet somehow, it's not what draws and holds Sarada's intention.

In the direct centre of the chamber, not twenty feet in front of them, is a familiar pale figure in blue robes.

"Mitsuki!" Sarada cries, only just managing to keep herself whispering. It's a veritable feat, considering the sight before them.

Her teammate and friend lies motionless on a gurney, robes dragged down to his hips revealing skinny arms and his wounded torso. It's been stitched up—crudely but effectively—but the skin remains the same obscene green that is climbing up the side of Konohamaru's neck.

Mitsuki's arms are bruised and battered, snaked by wires and tubes that Sarada immediately identifies as IV lines, dripping mysterious viscous yellow fluid into his body. Beside the gurney, a boxy looking machine with dials and complicated levers hums. It too is connected to Mitsuki by two thick black tubes; one leads to some kind of monitor attached to his heart, the other to a bowl-shaped contraption on his head.

All the while, he stares vacantly ahead of him, as if he isn't even aware they are there.

It's not the unresponsiveness or the crude medical equipment that worries her. It's the colour of his skin. Mitsuki is pale on a normal day, but right now – even in the dim light he seems almost blue. It's as if he has been frozen, except in the temperate air that makes no sense.

 _Blood loss,_ she realises, stepping back in horror as her eyes catch something she didn't notice right away. _Massive blood loss._

The floor surrounding the gurney resembles a terrible dais. It has been carved with a giant, spiraling warding sigil that stretches out a metre's radius around Mitsuki. The lines a deeply, if hastily, gouged into the stone, but clearly this was done with purpose – namely to catch blood.

Two final tabs are fastened in the crooks of Mitsuki's arms, providing a steady drip of blood into the stone groves. Sarada feels sick.

"There's no way he has enough blood to fill that whole sigil," Boruto whispers tensely.

"He's not," Konohamaru says grimly. "These meds? Blood replicators. As soon as he's drained to the point of death, they give him these and it replenishes the blood levels."

"This guy's a sicko," Boruto growls.

"Come on, let's get him out of there," Sarada says. While she and Konohamaru get closer to unhook the pale boy, Boruto keeps a wary eye out."

"Hey…hey, Mitsuki, come on…wake up, hey?"

"He's been drugged. A lot," Sarada says, carefully pulling out the IV lines. She gives it a sniff and makes a face. Sedatives should _not_ smell like that. "It's a high-powered tranquilizer, but I don't know which one."

"Something stronger than your average genin could take, I bet," Konohamaru mutters.

Sarada nods, examining paler than usual skin. There are small nicks and wounds up and down her friend's arms, all along the location of major blood vessels.

"I think he was hooked up to something else," she says. She checks his pulse, focussing on the sluggish flow of his blood. "Before the…bloodletting down here."

"Then why keep him alive?"

"Insurance," Konohamaru says. "In case whatever Jikken has planned doesn't work the first time, he still has a ready supply down here."

"I'm going to turn this asshole's head into a paperweight," Boruto snarls, and for a moment Sarada sees something raw and animalistic in her friend's face. She has a flash of Uncle Naruto, when he gave in to the Nine Tailed Fox within him, and shivers.

Boruto might not possess the chakra of the demon fox—he might _never_ –but she has a sudden presentment that one day, her friend is going to become a very dangerous man.

"Sa…"

She jumps, staring down at Mitsuki. His yellow eyes are dull, the pupils dilates far too much to be normal.

"Hold on, Mitsuki, we've got you," she tells him, then addresses her teammates, "We need to get him out of here. Even if he wasn't being used for Jikken's plans, if things go sour, he can't defend himself right now."

"…no…" Mitsuki murmurs, feebly shaking his head. "…just get…"

"Stop talking," Boruto tells him. "We've got this covered, okay?"

Between herself and Konohamaru, they manage to peel the heart monitor and metallic helmet off of his head; blood drips down the sides of his temples as tiny needles retract. Sarada sustains a minor electrical shock as she removes the helmet, suggesting that Jikken was using not only chemicals but electromagnetic pulses to keep her friend docile.

 _Forget a paperweight, I'm going to burn Jikken to ashes along with Teisōko for this!_

Konohamaru helps shift the boy into a sitting position, wincing when Mitsuki recoils from the touch. He's never been one for unnecessary physical contact in the past, but from the way his arms and fingers twitch, she suspects that if he were stronger he would lash out violently even at Konohamaru.

"It's okay, Mitsuki," she whispers to him. "We're not going to hurt you. You're safe with us. We're your friends."

"Friends…?" he repeats, as if he has no idea what the word means.

"Oh, man, what'd he do to you?" Boruto asks.

He never receives an answer, though.

Mitsuki's drugged eyes go wide, training on a spot directly over Sarada's shoulder. She whips around, just in time to throw her hand upward, catching an incoming blade with her uninjured palm before it penetrates her neck.

"Sarada!

A surprised grunt punches out of her, and agony explodes from the center of her hand through every nerve-ending. Still, her attention focusses on Jikken, his mad grin inches from her face. With a wet squelch, he pulls away, the blade searing her bones and muscles as it goes, teleporting several feet away from them.

Already she feels the corrosive burn of poison, sees the greenish web spreading beneath the blood pouring from the hole in her hand.

"Sarada—!"

"I'm okay," she chokes, though her legs buckle and she finds herself falling down on one knee. Konohamaru and Boruto are by her side now, shielding her as well as possible from further attack. As her eyes begin to blur, she watches Jikken's mad smile take a cruel twist.

"Well," he says, the chilling note of amusement echoing in the cavern, "this scene looks familiar."

Sarada sways, trying to remain upright. It's of utmost importance that she remain aware of everything going on all around her. Unconsciousness means the battle's lost, it means that she can't help her team and that Jikken will win—

 _He can't win! We can't let him win!_

Sweat breaks out on her skin and she feels chills running up her spine.

Out of the corner of her eye she sees Mitsuki holding himself upright as well, sitting by unaided but leaning heavily on shaky arms. He, too, seems determined to fight despite his weakened condition.

"You're all going to die," Jikken informs them calmly. "No. More than that. They'll cease to exist. The fight is just a stall tactic, but they've already lost."

"Like hell we have, asshole," Boruto growls.

"Oh, but you have," Jikken chortles. "Lost. Years and years ago. It's far too late to change anything." His voice goes quiet, conspiratorial. "And none of them are strong enough. Half-strength or less, poisoned and beaten and not even a threat. But the girl…" His expression twists into disgusted sneer. "He will enjoy the satisfaction of finally being able to kill you. A thorn in his side since the boy allowed you to live the first time."

"You shouldn't flap your mouth like that! You still have to go through me, and Konohamaru-sensei! Even if you kill us, my dad is coming! He and Uncle Sasuke will stop you!"

Jikken smirks. "I don't fear a future that will never arrive."

"That might be true," Konohamaru allows grimly, "but then again, you've never met our Hokage."

Jikken scoffs.

A second later he is gone.

When he reappears, he is directly behind Mitsuki and Sarada, swinging his bloodstained kunai at them. Before it can connect, a wall of earth springs up between them. The rock hums with chakra, and when the edge slams into it, there is a _ping_ noise as it snaps right off.

Before the blade can even hit the dirt, Jikken has teleported again and tries to come at the prone members of the team from another angle, hand grasping outward for Sarada's face. Again, another wall of earth shoots out of the ground, the speed of it making Sarada's hair fly into her eyes.

The dance repeats several more times. Jikken makes a move, but Konohamaru uses Earth Style to pull up a barrier. It's too strong to break through before the jōnin can catch up with him, and so Jikken has to flit away before he can make another attempt on the kids.

He finally stops trying, pausing several feet away and glowering hatefully at Konohamaru.

"So I will have to kill you first," he decides.

"Try it, you—!" Boruto begins to step forward, palm already vibrating in preparation for a Rasengan, but his sensei takes hold of him by the shoulder.

"No," he orders. "It's my responsibility to deal with this. Yours is to protect your teammates."

"But—"

"That's the shinobi way you've chosen, right?" their teacher interrupts. "To protect the people that are precious to you? The apprentice of Sasuke Uchiha wouldn't put anything in front of that."

"That's not –!"

"Go on. They need you."

"What…is he…?" Mitsuki rasps, still confused by the anaesthesia flowing through his system.

"Konohamaru-sensei…you can't!" Sarada protests. "The poison…you'll make is spread faster!"

"You kids…always with the disrespect, hey?" he snorts. "You're supposed to listen to your teacher." He is already striding forward, back straight and holding a kunai in each hand. The blades thrum with energy, and are abruptly blazing with visible blue chakra. "You two might be the children of the legendary heroes of the Fourth Great Shinobi Wars. And this guy might have gotten his abilities from a Sannin. But I am the grandson of the Third Hokage, and _he_ _was a_ _god of shinobi!_ "

With a running start, Konohamaru lunges toward Jikken, blades in hand. At the same moment that the teleporter vanishes into thin air, Konohamaru abruptly explodes into a dozen exact copies of himself—each wielding a chakra blade. As Jikken rematerializes, the thirteen figures begin to attack him simultaneously, swiping and slashing at him in quick, brutal movements. Each blow would be lethal if the pale man didn't vanish milliseconds before each impact.

Every so often, Jikken appears behind a clone, dispersing it by whatever tactic he can—a ruthless twist of the neck, or crushing the face. Each clone disappears in a burst of smoke, weapon clattering dully to the ground.

Sarada's brain stutters at that, dimly thinking that something isn't right.

 _Wait—shadow clones don't lose their weapons. So, they shouldn't make noise—unless the weapons are real!_

Just as the thought enters her mind, Konohamaru makes a hand sign. The discarded kunai that surround the melee of clones shine with chakra, and slowly lift from the ground. As they hurtle through the air, they multiply tenfold.

"He…gave all the shadow clones real weapons!" Sarada realises.

"And then he…channeled chakra into them…multiplied them," Mitsuki adds, also sounding impressed despite his breathlessness.

Boruto is gaping. "Since when can he do that?"

Before the stunned gaze of his students, Konohamaru appears to transform. It's as if they have never seen him before. The joking, upbeat man they have been training under for months now is gone, replaced with a dangerous human whirlwind. Even though they have all heard the stories of his abilities, they have never been in a situation where he has needed to show them his skills.

"I…understand now," Mitsuki says quietly.

"Understand what?"

"Why Konohamaru-sensei…is the one people say…will succeed your father one day."

And it seems Jikken finds this sudden change just as unexpected. After all, it was only by chance and the element of surprise that he rendered Konohamaru unconscious during their first meeting, but now that the jōnin knows what to expect he isn't holding back at all.

As Jikken deftly spins in midair, twisting his body to avoid the projectiles and popping into existence only to pop out again when another blade flies in his direction, he doesn't notice Konohamaru's clones have taken formation.

Four of them and the real Konohamaru surround him on all sides, equidistant from him in a bizarre pentagon shape.

With chilling synchronicity, they all attack at the same time, expelling a co-ordinated blast of energy—earth, fire, wind, water and lightening.

Sarada's knees wobble, but this time its from shock at what she's seeing. She never realised that her teacher had mastered all five nature transformations. She wonders why it never occurred to her that he would have had to if he ever does intend to be Hokage, or that he would know how to perform Lord Third's _Goton Dairendan_.

"Did he just get about a hundred times cooler?" Boruto asks quietly.

"I would say you have some competition," Mitsuki banters weakly.

As the debris and dust clear, the barrage of elements dissipating into the surrounding air, the only thing remaining is a brittle approximation of a skeletal human form, blackened and twisted.

"Did he…?" Sarada asks.

"It looks like it," Boruto replies.

And for a moment it seems like exactly what they expected has happened. Konohamaru has dealt with the ghostly clone at long last, tenacity finally winning over speed.

But as the ashy form disintegrates in front of them, several feet away they see Jikken pop back into existence. His skin is blackened in places, and there are shiny burns beneath ripped clothing, but it's still clear that he survived.

"No…" Sarada laments. Their enemy might have only just made it out from the attack, but it's clear his speed was still too much.

"I must admit," the pale man says darkly, teeth bared in a snarling smile. "I'm impressed. But I don't feel like playing any longer. Especially not against the last efforts of a dying man." He whispers loudly. "Your time is limited. All I must do is outlast him."

This time it's Konohamaru who smirks. "You can try."

Again, the two of them lunge at each other.

Black spots begin to overtake Sarada's vision. She presses her forearm over her eyes, trying to make the spots go away. She can practically feel the poison spreading through her veins, seeping into her cells. Even the tiny amount of self-healing ability she has built up tries to fight it off, she is being overwhelmed from the inside out.

She slumps forward.

"Sarada!"

Instead of hitting ground, though, she falls against something soft. Black and pink run together in her periphery. A strong arm wraps around her back and shoulders.

Boruto.

"We have to…hurry," Mitsuki says. "Jikken's right. It's all just…a game of time. Take my belt."

"For what?"

"A tourniquet. It's temporary…won't stop the poison, but will slow it."

"There has to be something else we can do!" Boruto cries. "Can't we—I don't know, drain the poison out somehow?"

"If you want two of us…to suffer from blood loss…instead of one."

"Don't worry about me," Sarada protests. "You should be helping Konohamaru-sensei." She pauses, takes a few steadying breaths, and then continues. "Unless he manages the perfect hit…he's going to run out of stamina soon."

"Then I have to get you out of here as soon as possible!" Boruto determines.

"What are you talking about?"

"I said I was going to protect you! And if we're all about to get killed anyway, that's what I'm going to die doing!"

Sarada's eyes widen in shock. That's the last thing she expected from him. "Boruto…"

"If you two are done…being inopportunely overdramatic," Mitsuki drawls weakly. "Arguing isn't going to change…anything. We need…a plan."

Sarada feels Boruto tighten his grip on her.

"Well…I might have one," the Uzumaki boy says cautiously. "But it's not a good one."

Sarada laughs bitterly at that. "How is that a change from usual?"

"We need you, Mitsuki," Boruto goes on. "If we're going to have a chance right now—whether it's to fight or run away."

"I'll do my best."

"You can't! He's too weak!" Sarada protests.

"Right now, yeah," Boruto concedes. "But if he takes some of my chakra, maybe…"

"What…?"

"I saw my dad and Sasuke do it. They helped Kakashi open a portal, even when his chakra was depleted. Maybe I can do the same thing! Top you up with chakra so you can fight. In the meantime, I'll get Sarada out of here—"

"The hell you will," she hisses. "You have to go after Teisōko! If you—"

"For once in your life, could you maybe not argue with me?!"

"For once in _your life_ could you maybe not be so stubborn?"

"None of us are in the right shape…to confront _that woman_ ," Mitsuki says, such a mixture of fear and loathing dripping in his voice that Sarada wonders just what happened while he was locked away here. "But Boruto can at least follow the order given…by our superior. But…if we do this, you'll be severely weakened. Your chakra reserves…are nowhere near the Lord Seventh."

"Yeah, but I don't need a lot of chakra to get Sarada out of here," Boruto says. "If our dads are coming, I bet our moms are too. Aunt Sakura can heal Sarada if I can get her to them."

"That's a big _if_ ," Sarada says, trying one last half-hearted attempt to get them to listen. "Forget about me, there's no time!"

"It's my decision."

"Yeah, but it's one thing to watch our dads do this chakra sharing thing, you don't even know how to!"

"But I do," Mitsuki interrupts. He turns to Boruto. "Are you sure?"

Boruto considers his friend for a moment, perhaps fighting off some last-minute sense of self-preservation, and then grins.

"Hell yeah," he says, reaching out to grasp Mitsuki's hand with his own. "We're going to kick ass! Believe it!"

"If you two die, I'll never forgive either of you," Sarada informs them sourly.

With equal expressions of determination, Boruto and Mitsuki reach forward and grasp each other's hands remaining hand. As their arms press together, chakra radiates from the two of them, intense and static. Sarada forgets sometimes that while she comes from an ancient bloodline, and has been carefully training to build up her own chakra reserves, both her teammates have a genetic predisposition to it.

Boruto is an Uzumaki, and Mitsuki is—well, whatever he is. If her suspicions—and they are still only suspicions, there's no room in her head for more than that!—are correct, he has inherited certain abilities she can't even fathom.

Right now, the pale boy looks completely focussed, while Boruto grits his teeth in concentration. With ever second that passes, he becomes paler and paler. Sarada knows from experience that having chakra drawn out of you is uncomfortable, but for Boruto to be weakening so quickly, it means he is sharing a lot.

And that Mitsuki was worse off than they believed he was.

It doesn't help that all of this is temporary. Chakra replenishment is by no means a replacement for the blood he's lost. It's more like a shot of adrenaline to get him on his feet. Boruto might be sacrificing his strength right now, but it's Mitsuki that might end up dying if their stalling tactics fail.

Sarada's eyes are beginning to blur, and she blinks rapidly to try to clear them. Much as she is tempted to activate her Sharingan to keep aware of what's happening, it would just overtax her already compromised system. As it is, she's having difficulty keeping her respiration even, trying not to panic when it feels like she can't get a full breath. The less rapidly she breathes, the slower her pulse will be and the slower the poison will travel.

 _Damn it, if I had been faster and just dodged that stupid knife, I could be helping right now!_

Well, as much as anyone with two useless arms could help.

Her attention flits back to Konohamaru, squinting as she tries to figure out what he's doing now.

Her sensei makes a hand sign, and the ground beneath Jikken becomes slick and unsound, causing him to stumble just before he can make a jump into the air. As the pale man tries to regain his balance, Konohamaru inhales deeply, before expelling a giant cloud of dust or ash.

It swirls in the air surrounding his opponent, obscuring his view of the surrounding cave.

 _No, wait…that's not dust, that's—_

Without halting the onslaught, Konohamaru clicks his teeth together. There's a spark, and suddenly the dusty air ignites, turning the smoking cloud around Jikken into a fiery dome.

 _Chakra infused gunpowder?!_

Inside, Jikken yells in pain, but seems incapable of moving beyond the ash pile.

 _I guess it clings to his opponent and ensure he actually gets him…even if he teleports away._

And then Konohamaru takes another running leap, catapulting through the air, a Big Ball Rasengan growing ever larger in his hand. With a bellow, he shoves it downward in a finishing move that illuminates the whole chamber as it hits its target.

Sarada jerks her head away, having to hide her eyes. Boruto and Mitsuki both hunch toward each other in an attempt to take cover from the aftershock, but neither release the other's hand. Giant, sprawling cracks split through the ground, shattering the bloodied seal around the gurney and machinery that Mitsuki was hooked up to earlier. Blood and water begin to stain the area around it, seeping out of the carefully drawn lines.

 _Is that it? Is it over?_

Sarada chances a glance back to the melee, heart pounding despite her attempts to keep calm. Konohamaru stands tense as well, his back to her, as the dust settles.

A dark figure becomes visible in the cloud of dust and ash, and Sarada's stomach tightens with dismay.

 _No way…he survived!_

Worse than that, it seems.

As Jikken becomes visible once again, she can perceive that he is covered in shiny red welts and burns. His clothing is torn and charred, beneath it showing bloody muscle and bone. But before there's any chance to celebrate that, the wounds begins to heal.

 _No…way…_

At first she thinks he might have some kind of healing factor, but then she realises that the skin that is covering him is spreading from beneath the black marks. As every bit of pale skin gives way to gray, it takes on a damn sheen like that of a reptile or amphibian. Jikken's eyes become larger, the pupils turning yellow, and the veins in his face bulging.

He doesn't resemble the Fourth Hokage at all anymore, so much as some monster from a myth. Fingers join together, becoming three wicked, sickle shaped claws on his hands, while his feet elongate, ripping through his sandals, and form into clawed hooves.

"I guess this isn't going so well for you," Konohamaru points out cockily, "if you've had to activate your curse seal to survive."

"I admit, I've never had to," Jikken replies, his previously manic voice lowering into a baritone growl. "To think, such an insect like you would dare to challenge her guardian."

"We're beyond challenging now, last I check. Pretty sure I'm winning," Konohamaru smirks. "Seeing as how that seal you used Mitsuki for is broken now. I don't think you'll be pulling Orochimaru through after all—"

 _"You will not say that name!"_

Jikken propels himself forward, disappearing scant inches away and reappearing behind him. Konohamaru spins in time to duck an incoming blow, but Jikken vanishes again, now coming at him from the side. It's in his blind spot, but somehow Konohamaru anticipates the move and grabs his arm, flipping him over in a move meant to dislocate both shoulder and elbow.

But within the blink of an eye, he's gone again.

A knee hits Konohamaru in the back, then an elbow cracks against his jaw. Konohamaru doesn't go down, but he is forced to skid back a few feet to recover. A fist arcs forward, sickle-shaped claws aiming to rip into his chest; Konohamaru doesn't move fast enough, sacrificing evasion for the opportunity to grab the hand and twist, earning an angry, agonized howl of pain.

"You really think this was the only seal?" he spits. "You think I wouldn't take everything into account?! The goddess sees all, and we know _every_ probability!"

"Account for this!" Konohamaru shoots back, pulling a Rasengan together in the air and shoving it toward Jikken. The enemy dodges once more, and Sarada swears, both at his continued evasion and his words.

She knew that it seemed like Mitsuki had more blood taken from him than was collected in the blood seal. Most likely, there's another somewhere else; the most obvious place would be far above them. Many jutsu that create doorways require some kind of marker or second port of entry somewhere else. If the one Konohamaru destroyed is here, chances are the second one is far above. Maybe even carved into the domelike ceiling of this place.

Unfortunately, it's too far for her to see in her present state, and with the rest of the chamber obscured with all the scaffolding.

 _Maybe I can just take a peek with the Sharingan. If I know where it is, I can tell—_

Boruto groans and falls forward, only just catching himself on his hands.

"Hey!" Sarada gasps, and then her eyes fly to Mitsuki. "Are you guys…?"

But her teammate remains quiet, head bowed and perfectly still as he tries to acclimate to the sudden unfamiliar chakra. Sarada reaches out to steady them both, when Boruto's head whips up and he cries out, "No!"

Sarada turns, just in time to see Konohamaru seize in midair, as if someone has stabbed him in the back. For a moment she thinks it's Jikken, but the monstrous man is dragging himself to his feet down below. As Konohamaru clutches at his chest and plummets to the ground, Sarada realises his body has finally given out.

"Konohamaru-sensei!" she cries, trying to stand, but unable to make her limbs function. A dizzy parade of spots swims in front of her eyes.

Jikken struts forward, in a way it's almost a grotesque skip, and simpers, "Time is on my side after all."

Giggling at this, he raises his knee, angling one cloven foot downward to either crush or clash Konohamaru's throat.

He never gets the chance, as the ground beneath him erupts, snakes surging out of the ground to wrap around his arms and torso. Crackling yellow electricity sparks from Sarada's left, and when she looks up she is shocked to see Mitsuki is once more on his feet.

But it's Mitsuki as she has never seen him before.

He is furious.

"You…poisoned me," Mitsuki snarls at Jikken as the snakes holding him in place tighten their grip. "Stuck needles into my veins…hooked me to machines…when I _swore_ I would _never…let…that…happen…again!"_

He waves a hand and the snakes holding Jikken tighten convulsively, dragging him away from Konohamaru's motionless form.

Jikken grunts in pain, the sound of bones cracking, features narrowing in focus and then _pop_ he is gone. When he lands staggering several yards away, out of breath and with one arm clutching his ribs, he eyes Mitsuki with a new understanding.

"So…the child is not just his blood…but one of his toys as well."

"I am not a toy," Mitsuki tells him with chilling promise. "And you'll find keeping me alive all this time was a _very_ grave miscalculation."

What happens next is a flurry of motion Sarada thinks she would have a hard time tracking even if she could activate her Sharingan. She's never truly seen this side if Mitsuki before, and as fascinated and disturbed as she is by it, she can't allow herself to get caught up in watching it.

Slowly, heavily, she drags herself closer to Boruto.

"Are you okay?"

"I'll live," her friends replies through gritted teeth, then lets out a weak laugh. "If we ever get out of this…your mom is teaching me how to heal stuff too. This is bullshit."

"No one asked you to play the hero," she shoots back tensely.

"No one asked _you_ ," he counters. "Seriously…you survive a whole day of…of broken bones and almost drowning and… _whatever_ the hell else happened. And you get taken out by a poison knife?"

"Shut up, idiot."

"Yeah, yeah…" An enraged yell from above where Mitsuki and Jikken are throwing each other into walls, dragging their fight farther and farther up the ramparts that line the chamber. "I knew he was good…but not _that_ good."

"He'll run out of steam soon," Sarada warns grimly.

"Which is why we need to leave…before his distraction stops working. Gimme a moment…to get back feeling in my feet. I'll get you out of here…believe it."

"No, you need to just get _you_ out of here. You'll be faster on your own. Find our parents, if they're there. I can…I can stay with Konohamaru-sensei."

"Sarada…shut up and stop arguing something we've already decided. Besides, if you die, I die—"

Her eyes widen. "Wha…?"

"—and getting murdered by Uncle Sasuke and Aunt Sakura? Totally not on my list of things to do today," Boruto declares, forcing himself to his feet. He reaches for her, and before she can protest, has lifted her into his arms.

"I can walk—!"

"Less movement is better," Boruto cuts her off. "Let's go!"

But before he takes even one step toward the exit or she can manage one last half-hearted bit of protest, an agonised shriek fills the hair.

Boruto and Sarada both stare upward to their teammate.

Mitsuki's fingertips glow with purple flame, a technique Sarada recognises as a means of disrupting the flow of an enemy's chakra. Jikken is in the process of a downward cleave, clearly attempting to take Mitsuki's head clear off, but remains frozen at the purple chakra flaring against his stomach. A beat later, the teleporter all-but shrieks in agony, diving back and clutching at his abdomen.

Sarada can't see it tell for sure what seal Mitsuki used, but she suspects Jikken won't be teleporting again any time soon.

He knows it, too, judging from the pained expression on his face. His entire form tenses up, as if he's trying to vanish, but can't get beyond the seal anchoring him. A normal person would be on his knees by now, but Jikken remains upright. In fact, he claws at his abdomen in frustration, causing bloody welts there.

"Clever, clever," he spits at Mitsuki. Then he abruptly begins to laugh. "But far, far from over!"

Mitsuki makes a move forward, but Jikken jumps nimbly out of his way, backing farther and farther up the rickety stairwell.

"The damned serve their purpose, don't they?" Jikken giggles, the sound high and manic. "He left them, as he left me. Left _you_. Abandoned. But I found a use for them! And even if I die here…she will bring me back!"

"You need to shut up now," Mitsuki states flatly.

"And you need to make a decision," Jikken purrs, flourishing his bloody clawed hands as if to tick off options. "Kill me…or save your friends."

Before anyone can ruminate on that, he pivots and shoves his hand against something on the wall nearby. There's a creaking noise, like a long-unused lever being pulled downward. Seconds later, the room begins to echo with the sound of scraping metal.

The banging noises that Sarada heard earlier suddenly disappear, replaced instead with the ominous, snarling she's only heard once before. It suddenly makes perfect sense what Jikken was talking about.

"Oh, no," she whispers, staring up into the distance as dozens of shadows move across the ramparts, all along the spiralling staircase. They loom over the edge of the scaffolding, growling and snarling and swiping at each other.

She would think that the dome of the mountain were filled with very large bats, if it weren't for the familiar spread of curse marks breaking out across their skin when they are hit by the light.

It's at that moment that several of the once-human creatures notice their audience below.

Boruto's hold on her tightens and he says quietly, "This isn't gonna be good, is it?"

Sarada can only swallow convulsively in response.

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	29. Chapter Twenty-Five

Never-ending, flat desert stretches out as far as the eye can see. There are no buildings to be found, or even indications of mountains or other natural landmarks. No sign of shelter or escape, either.

"Oh, this is bad," Sakura murmurs, eyes wide and hands clasped in front of her mouth. "This is so, so bad." She turns her head rapidly from side to side, as if that will show her something comforting.

Naruto seizes Sasuke by the shirt. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Me?! This was him!" he shoots back, also fastening his hands around Naruto's jacket collar to push him away.

"Well, you're him!"

"Not for another twenty years!"

"It doesn't matter, this is exactly your twisted kind of logic!"

"As if you understand anything about logic!"

"We're going to die of thirst and – and exposure!" Sakura wails. "And our insides are going to overheat and our brains will boil, and oh gods, I'm going to turn into a giant freckle!"

"Alright, everyone, calm down," Kakashi orders in a would-be-soothing tone, striding forward to pry Sasuke and Naruto apart.

"Calm down?" Sakura demands. "People die of dehydration and heat stroke in the desert within a day! There could be poisonous animals around here – and who knows if it's some strange alien dimension with monsters! We don't have the time to calm down!"

"I have no doubt in my mind that Sasuke – Sasuke's future self – would not have sent us here if it were not safe," Kakashi insists. "As much as I don't like it either, it's best for everyone if we just stay here until they fix the problem. If anything happens to any of us, it won't go well for the future."

"So what, we just sit here and do nothing?" Naruto demands. "It could take forever!"

"Not with how shaky time is back in our dimension," Kakashi replies. "This incident is going to be determined one way or another, and soon. You'll just have to have the same faith that I do that your future selves will win this – and they will come back to get us."

"And if they don't?" Everyone glances to Sasuke, whose face is pale with barely controlled fury. "What happens if they lose?"

"I don't believe they will. And if they do…it may not matter. Assuming the timeline resets itself to Jikken's desired results, we will likely all cease to exist."

"Or, because we're in a completely separate dimension, we might be outside of the reach of that timeline," Sakura counters. "Assuming these dimensions aren't tied together in any way, and assuming time is tied to specific dimensional space, what's to say we won't be trapped here in this desert forever?"

"I only understood about half of that, but it's true, it'll be a pretty short forever," Naruto swallows nervously. "If all the stuff you just said about deserts are true too."

"We have to get out of here," Sakura tells Kakashi.

"And not just because we might die," Sasuke agrees. "I don't think this fight is going to be as straightforward as they all think. Maybe my future self can cross dimensions, and maybe Sakura's is a talented healer and Naruto's does…whatever it is he can do –"

"Hey!"

" – but none of that matters if they are facing an enemy that can't be killed."

Sakura blinks in confusion. "Can't be killed? What do you mean?"

"It's something Jikken said when we released him from Kakashi's Kamui," Sasuke explains. "He said that he died over and over, but then was brought back. This goddess person, Teisōko, brought him back. What if no matter how many times our future selves kill him, _she_ somehow brings him back? Even our future selves will eventually run out of chakra."

"And they don't know that's a possibility!" Naruto realises. "The only ones who also heard him say that were Konohamaru and Boruto –"

"Who we don't know have even managed to make it wherever Jikken is," Sakura adds.

"And even if they do, what's to say they happen to think of the same connection Sasuke did in time to warn their parents – assuming they even meet up with them," Kakashi catches on.

Faith aside, several different, progressively unpleasant scenarios begin to present themselves.

"Facing an enemy that could potentially never tire and never die would waste what little time everyone has left," Sasuke concludes.

Everyone is very quiet for a long moment, exchanging troubled glances.

"So what do we do?" Sakura asks quietly.

Kakashi is torn.

On the one hand, he understands the importance of staying out of the conflict. If anything happens to his students, or even him, the ability of their future selves will be rendered utterly void. On the other hand, sitting in the middle of a desert hoping that somehow, the future Konoha shinobi will account for every eventuality leaves far too much to chance.

 _It's a lesson every shinobi learns early, not to leave anything to chance…_

But even if they were to try to escape this place, how would they do it? It's an entirely separate dimension, possibly with the only way out being Future Sasuke's time-space abilities.

 _Well…there could be a way…_

He winces as a spectacularly bad idea occurs to him. Another in a long list of bad ideas today…

Sakura appears to be thinking along the same lines, because when his expression changes, so does hers.

"You can't," she protests.

"Probably not," Kakashi agrees right away.

"Can't what?" Naruto asks as he and Sasuke look between the two, missing the by-play.

"You're barely standing, _we're_ barely standing!"

"I am aware."

"Then why are you considering it!"

"Will one of you tell me what the hell is going on?" Naruto shouts.

"Kakashi is considering using his Mangekyō Sharingan to get us out of here," Sasuke tells him. "And Sakura's right – it's a bad idea."

" _Considering_ , I'm _considering_ using it," Kakashi insists. "And it's more seeing if it's possible to reopen Sasuke's portal than anything else. In all likelihood, it's not. And not something any of you should be worried about." He makes a dismissive gesture with his hand. "And so while I continue to _consider_ , you three might want to pipe down or see what you can do about finding shelter. Whether we're here for an hour or the rest of our lives, I don't think anyone wants to get heatstroke."

"What exactly do you expect us to do, burrow into the sand?" Naruto grumbles, but Kakashi makes a shooing motion with his hands, and the kids reluctantly quiet down to give him a chance to concentrate.

Kakashi sighs and turns to face the spot where they landed, wondering how exactly he's supposed to pull off a miraculous escape. In theory, reopening the portal Sasuke's future self used should be possible – in fact, he can sense small indications of chakra from their dimension.

 _Jikken_.

It's different from before, not as muddy, but still as though coming from beneath many layers. He wonders if this is how the future Sasuke felt when he was guiding them through the winter world, following a dim chakra signature to know where to bring them out again.

 _Perhaps it's easer to sense chakra from a place that isn't completely infected by a temporal paradox, the way our dimension is._

Summoning up his Sharingan once more, Kakashi considers the weak spot for any sign that it can be reopened. A moment later, though, he gives a huff of disappointment.

"It's impossible," Kakashi tells him with a shake of the head. "The portal has been closed in a way that I can't even sense the seam."

It's as if Future Sasuke knew that none of them would be content to just linger, and ensured they couldn't get back the way they came.

"So you're just going to give up?" Naruto demands.

"There isn't really another option here."

"Who said we needed to use his portal?" Sasuke wants to know. "You can always open your own."

"Right…" Sakura picks up the thread. "We already know that your Kamui world is connected to our dimension, and it's connected to you, so you should be able to open it here. And if we go through the Kamui dimension and _then_ to our world, we wouldn't need to rely on Sasuke's portal."

"Yes!" Naruto cheers. "Let's do that!"

"I've only ever opened a door to that dimension from our world," Kakashi reminds them. "I've never actually travelled through it. I don't even know if it's entirely safe."

 _Which was why it wasn't such a moral struggle to trap Jikken in there in the first place…_

"If by some miracle I managed to get us into there, there's no guarantee I could get us out again. We could be trapped with no way out, and no one able to find us," he continues. "At least here, Sasuke is still able to retrieve us."

"If he's not dead or dying," Naruto mutters.

"He's not!" Sakura cries, upset at the very notion that something might happen to the older version of Sasuke. She shoots a panicked glance at her teammate, as if worried Naruto's words will somehow cause him to whither before her very eyes.

"It's still too risky," Kakashi maintains. "Even if I were to try it, I would need something to focus on. An anchor from our dimension to this one, and that's not something that we –" His suddenly fall on Naruto. " – have."

"What?" Naruto asks, glancing from side to side. Sakura and Sasuke appear as equally nonplussed as him. "What's going on?"

 _Oh, these ideas are getting worse and worse…_

"There might…" Kakashi trails off, shakes his head, because no, that would be the worst possible thing they could add to this mess right now.

And yet…

"Naruto, I need to talk to you privately for a minute," Kakashi sighs.

"What? Why?" Sakura protests, while Sasuke crosses his arms and glares suspiciously.

"Because I said so," Kakashi answers, motioning for Naruto to follow him.

The blond boy grumbles. "If this is just another ploy of yours to give those two a 'moment' –"

Sakura sputters and Sasuke's cheeks tinge with pink.

"No, it's to do with your _very specific chakra_ abilities that you learned to call upon when Lord Jiraiya was teaching you about summoning," Kakashi tells him tensely.

"And you can't tell us what those are?" Sasuke wants to know.

"Not now. No time," Kakashi answers, heading away from them. "It has to be Naruto, he's uniquely qualified for this."

"Why does it have to be a secret?" Sakura adds curiously.

"Just trust me," Kakashi calls over his shoulder. "Naruto, come on!"

Naruto can't help beam at this, because it's supremely rare that their sensei needs _him_ to help figure out a plan. Kakashi's default is usually Sasuke, whose success seems more important to him than Naruto's or Sakura's. He figures it has something to do with Sasuke's family issues, but it still sucks.

 _But now it's my turn!_

He jogs over to where Kakashi has gone to stand, and grins up at his teacher.

"What do you need me to do, Kakashi-sensei? I'm totally ready!" Naruto declares, making a fist to emphasis his point. "I mean, I don't know much about summoning yet, but I'll do my best!"

"It's not about the summoning," Kakashi responds in a low voice, darting his eye back to where Sakura and Sasuke are talking quietly together. He seems to want to ensure they aren't paying attention to him and Naruto. "Summoning won't help us here."

Naruto frowns.

"Then why did you need me?"

"Because you have access to something that none of us do," Kakashi tells him grimly, meeting Naruto's gaze head on. "And _that_ 's what will help us."

It takes several seconds before Naruto's brain catches up.

 _He's talking about the Nine-Tails._

Naruto's earlier enthusiasm fades. "Oh."

And for the first time since Naruto met him, Kakashi is breaking the unspoken rule about acknowledging his awareness of its existence.

"Can you sense it?" his teacher asks.

"Of course I can sense it," Naruto mutters dully. "Kind of hard not to when it's a part of me…"

"No, not the one connected to you," Kakashi clarifies. "The one that's part of your future self."

"Huh?"

"It's the same entity. And it's much more powerful than a human chakra signature. It might even be able to transcend dimensions, and if you can sense it – well, it might offer us a strong enough anchor that I can get us out of here after all."

"I'll try," Naruto says with an unenthusiastic sigh. It figures that the one time he can come through and help his team, it's because of the evil spirit inside him and not because of his own abilities.

"Naruto." He glances up at the sharp tone in Kakashi's voice. "Whatever you're thinking right now, it's not true. I'm not just relying on you because of the Nine-Tails."

"It's okay, Kakashi-sensei, I get it. I'm only strong because of that…"

"Don't sell yourself short," his teacher chides him. "Your abilities have grown exponentially, just in the time that I've known you."

Naruto can't keep the petulance out of his voice here. "Yeah, well, if that were true, why's it always Sasuke you want to train with?"

"I won't lie – I do have more in common with Sasuke, and I understand more about his drive and the scale of his talents," Kakashi answers gravely, and Naruto's stomach drops. "For that reason, in many ways, I am an inadequate teacher for you."

"Huh?"

This sidetracks him momentarily.

"In fact, I've been thinking for a while that you need someone a lot more capable of bringing out all of your talents," he continues. "When this is over – assuming we live – I'm going to have a conversation with Lord Jiraiya."

"Huh? Why Pervy Sage?"

"Well, he did manage to teach you the Rasengan," Kakashi reminds him, "but he also happens to be one of the Sannin. A teacher like that could mould your potential into something…well, something close to the future you that we saw today."

"I guess…" Naruto allows, uncertain.

"And there's the fact he was your father's teacher as well. He knew both your parents, which means he probably knows a lot more about your capabilities than anyone else, especially your very particular kind of chakra."

But Naruto doesn't hear anything beyond the words 'father's teacher'.

His jaw drops. " _Pervy Sage_ taught my _dad?"_

"Why do you think he taught you the Rasengan? It was meant to be yours."

Naruto stares down at his hand, memories flying back to the month of intense training he went through to master the jutsu, all the while ignorant of its true origins.

"He didn't teach you that jutsu because you have the Nine-Tails demon inside of you. He taught it to you because you are the son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Their dreams are alive in you and it gives you a drive that no one else here has."

"Kakashi-sensei…"

"You and your teammates are fast growing beyond what I can teach you," Kakashi continues. "And whatever you feel, know this: you are all an integral part of this squad. Perhaps Sasuke has the raw talent and the skill, and perhaps Sakura has the intelligence. But you, Naruto, have a will power I've never seen before. Somehow, when you set your mind to something, it always turns out how you want it to." He chuckles. "Either that or you have an ungodly amount of luck guiding you. Which I'm even more inclined to believe since meeting your future wife."

Naruto's cheeks flood with warmth at this.

He's not entirely sure how he feels knowing that he's going to marry Hinata one day, and the fact that Kakashi seems to find it impressive makes it even weirder.

"The point is, anyone else in the world could have that demon sealed into them, and I wouldn't trust them with something as important as this," Kakashi concludes, then pauses. "If it were Sasuke, I wouldn't even consider asking."

Naruto's eyes widen, and he feels something suspiciously like tears in his eyes. Quickly he shakes it off, and straightens up.

"Alright, you just hang on a sec, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto declares, clenching his eyes closed and trying to focus. "I've got a demon to make a deal with!"

ナルト

"Don't…move…a muscle," Sarada whispers, trying to think past her sluggish brain to count how many of the horrible creatures are gazing down on them. In their condition, just one is going to prove a challenge, but with… dozens?

"I think our plan to run away isn't going to work anymore," Boruto whispers back.

One of the creatures above gives a terrifying, reverberating roar. Its fellows echo the noise, claws and fangs gleaming in the artificial light, and then they attack. It's as if a giant black curtain has suddenly spilled over the edges of the scaffolding, barrelling down on them from all directions.

Sarada feels Boruto's hold on her tighten, and it takes every fibre of her not to reflexively lean in to him and shut her eyes, because they are about to die and there is no time to even react before—

Countless snakes emerge from Mitsuki's arms, reaching upward and crisscrossing through the air. They wrap around the first wave of monsters, while the others create a barrier above Team 7. Slowly, the snakes encircles the small space of ground occupied by the three of them and Konohamaru's unconscious form, shielding them from danger.

"What are you doing?!" Sarada cries. "You need to stop Jikken!"

Through the swiftly closing gaps in the barrier, she can see the pale man staggering up the staircase, disappearing among the throng of bulky bodies. He might not be able to teleport now that his chakra has been sealed, but he can still do a lot of damage if they let him escape.

"My strength's fading," Mitsuki grunts, entire body shaking with effort. "By the time I reach him, it would be gone. I likely wouldn't survive another encounter."

"So instead of dying there you wanna die here with us?" Boruto quips. "I'm touched."

In spite of his sarcasm, Sarada knows he's impressed, and she can relate. In the face of their inevitable death, the idea that Mitsuki has chosen to face it with them makes her feel warm despite the cold poison trailing through her veins.

"I blame your strange ideas rubbing off on me," the other boy returns.

 _Right. Then this is it…_

"Help me up," Sarada tells Boruto, struggling to remove his hold on her.

"But—"

"We're about to be ripped apart by giant curse mark bat things, you'd better damn well believe I'm doing it standing beside my teammates!" she hisses. "Or did you forget?"

Boruto blinks at this, and then smirks. "Right."

"We are one," Mitsuki agrees, inching closer to them. The flare of his chakra is a little intimidating, but at the same time, she finds it a comfort. "To the end?"

Sarada gets to her feet, using every bit of strength not to lean back on Boruto as she reaches into her pack for the last of her explosive tags; they're the only thing she's still capable of using.

"Yeah," she coughs, trying not to notice the blood taste in her mouth.

"Alright, you giant freaks of nature!" Boruto shouts, the air above his hand swirling into a Rasengan. "Come and get it!"

Mitsuki retracts the snakes surrounding them, and the creatures that were held back by the slithering barrier fall once more, reaching and clawing. Sarada lets out a shout of effort, throwing her explosive tags as far away from her and her teammates as she can muster.

There are several consecutive explosions, taking out the first wave of monsters as they descend, stunning and confusing them enough to give Boruto an opening. With an angry snarl he heaves his hand upwards, and Sarada is shocked to see that the tiny whirl of energy has not only grown larger, but utterly changed its shape.

 _That's…?_

The whirling vortex of light travels upward, and then detonates, exploding into countless microscopic blades of wind that Sakura can't even follow the movements of. They collide with the descending creatures, there's a flash of light, and a growing din of angry, pain-filled screams.

"Rasenshuriken," Mitsuku murmurs, sounding awed. Sarada can empathise; she's only ever seen Lord Seventh use it, and Boruto has never given any indications that he had learned to perform that particular jutsu. Moreover—

"He shouldn't be able to do that!" she gasps, staring at Boruto as he clutches his arm; the skin is raw and his jacket smokes as if it has just been on fire. "He gave you enough chakra to help you tap into whatever it is you're doing now, and he can still…?"

 _Papa wasn't kidding when he said the Uzumaki clan had huge chakra reserves! I knew, but I never…!_

"Did we…did we win…?" Boruto asks dazedly, falling forward as his knee gives out.

As the dust settles around them, Sarada sees several dark forms surrounding them in a circle, not moving. Others look like they've been shredded down to a fraction of their size.

For a moment she thinks that, against all odds, maybe they _did_.

Until an echoing snarl starts up again, and the shadows in the dust beyond the fallen creatures become more defined. Not all of the curse mark branded creatures were caught in the lethal detonation, and they have begun to stir, dragging themselves back up. Some of them are entering the next phase of whatever the curse mark does, growing in size; far above them, there are still a few looming threateningly in the scaffolding.

There is no exit left, no place to retreat.

"We almost did," she tells Boruto quietly.

"Damn it."

"I don't suppose you can manage another one of those?"

From the pained hiss he offers when he tries to move his hand, she has her answer.

"Well," Mitsuki says, almost conversationally despite the way he continues to glow with blue fire. "It's been nice to know you both."

"Hey, Sarada?"

"Yeah?"

"There's something I need to tell you."

"What could you possibly need to tell me right—" she cuts herself off, a crazy idea occurring to her and whips around to meet Boruto's gaze. It's hard, the way her sight is beginning to give over to black, dizzying spots, but she's damn well going to give him a piece of her mind. "Are you kidding?! You do this now? We're about to die!"

"In that case, Boruto, there is something I should tell you as well," Mitsuki says pleasantly, as if they aren't f acing incoming death from above.

"You guys are ruining my final moments!"

"Oh, I beg to differ on that one, kiddo," a voice interrupts.

Suddenly there is a brilliant, warm orange light spreading throughout the chamber, as if a thousand torches have suddenly burned into being. Except it isn't torches. The flaming pyres of light are the familiar, incandescent and multiplied forms of the Seventh Hokage in his Sage form.

"Dad!" Boruto cries out in relief.

"It's been a while since I've dealt with any of these," Uncle Naruto—or at least the one closest to them—says, as his clones begin to grapple with the surrounding hordes. "Do they seem uglier to you, Sasuke?"

And this time, it's Sarada who feels an overwhelming sense of relief, because weaving through the skirmishing light and dark shapes of creature and clone, is her father. And not just him either, but—

"Mama? Aunt Hinata?" she murmurs in shock, just as the last of her strength leaves her and she pitches forward.

Papa catches her, and Mama is already reaching for her, one hand glowing, the other digging into her medical kit.

"Hold on, sweetheart, we're here," Mama says, as Aunt Hinata envelops Boruto in a tight embrace in one arm. As Mitsuki's chakra and snakes fades away he staggers back, falling into her other outstretched arm.

"Are you two alright?" she asks quietly, hands already roving over them for sign of injury.

"I'm fine!" Boruto insists, struggling away from his mother. "But Big Bro Konohamaru—he's been poisoned! You guys have to help him!"

"Of course we will, but first—"

"Where is Teisōko?" Papa interrupts, casting his eyes around into every corner of the dome.

Sarada blinks, bleary and confused. "How do you—oh! You ran into the others, didn't you?"

"Something like that," he says shortly, and then prompts, "Teisōko?"

"No idea," Boruto pipes up. "We never made it that far before Jikken tried to take us out and—"

Everyone ducks as one of the clones throws a curse mark creature overhead, careening into a cave wall with bone shattering force.

"—and then these freaks showed up."

Papa shoots an unimpressed frown at his student. "Coming here was foolish."

"Oh yeah? What would you have done!?"

"The exact same thing," Mama mutters as she checks Sarada's pupils and the knife wound in her hand.

"She's up there," Mitsuki tells Papa gravely, nodding towards the upper levels of the scaffolding. "There's a chamber _he_ took me to, when I first got here. I don't remember much, as I wasn't very lucid. But she's in there. He keeps her restrained, but I…I'm not sure who benefits better from that."

Papa nods, spares one last quick glance at his wife and daughter—Mama shoots him an encouraging smile—and then he is gone. He moves like lightening through the melee of clones and beasts, moving up the scaffolding as if he could fly.

"She's so toast," Boruto says smugly, and then winces, "Ow! _Mom_!"

"Hush," Aunt Hinata tells him as she pokes and prods his arms. "Your chakra pathways are almost completely shredded— _what did you_ _do_?"

 _Wow, Aunt Hinata is scary when she's angry…_

"Um…maybe…possibly…used a Rasenshuriken?"

"Boruto!" Aunt Hinata cries in dismay. "You know you can't do that without learning Sage mode to temper it! You could have permanently affected your ability to perform ninjutsu!"

"Well, we were gonna die anyway, I didn't think…" His excuses trail off into indistinct mumbling Sarada is beginning to have trouble following.

"Mama?" she queries tiredly.

"Yes?"

"Papa was a big jerk when he was little," she tells her matter-of-factly.

"Is that so?" Mama says, but Sarada wonders if that isn't a tiny smile on her face.

"And you were kind of weird…"

"Everyone's weird at that age," Mama says as she unstoppers two large syringes; she passes one to Mitsuki. "Inject Konohamaru with this. It's a master antidote prototype I've been working on. The ultimate goal is to target and destroy foreign substances in the body, but for right now, it just forcibly ejects them." Mitsuki takes the syringe. "And hold him down, because it's going to hurt."

"No, but you were really weird," Sarada insists doggedly. "And I think Uncle Naruto had a crush on you, which is _really_ w—"

Something punches into her arm, and pain like a thousand flames lick through her veins.

Sarada screams in agony, lashing out, but Mama has a firm grip on her. This makes the pain even worse, because there's nowhere that she can touch without jarring broken bones or lacerations. The agonizing fire spreads throughout her body, and she wonders if she isn't really on fire, because she is perspiring now.

A viscous, foul-smelling green liquid oozes from her pores, burning her as it evaporates.

Sarada cries out again, bewildered by the pain, but Mama doesn't let her go, simply swiping the noxious condensation from her skin. Just as quickly, a frisson of cold rolls through her body, as if from the base of her spine to the tips of her fingers. Sarada shivers convulsively, but Mama still holds her close. She can hear muffled yells from nearby, probably Konohamaru, mixed in with the sounds of battle, but she fights to stay awake. She won't become useless in the middle of a fight!

There is sudden heaving sensation in her gut, and she is abruptly turned on her side, expelling even _more_ of the rancid fluid through her mouth and nose. The scent and taste makes her gag and dry heave, but soon it is all gone.

Her vision swims and blurs, before abruptly coalescing back into view. Mama is staring down at her with a tight smile, relief in her eyes.

"Better?" she asks.

"Mm-hm," Sarada mumbles, unable to form words just yet. Her throat hurts, and the disgusting taste is still in her mouth, but she doesn't feel like she's being hollowed out from the inside anymore.

"Gross," Boruto informs her from nearby. "Although, I guess you should be happy it only came out of your mouth.

Sarada's eye twitches. "…gonna…kill…you…"

"Not anytime soon, you won't," Mama says, taking hold of Sarada's broken arm. She clicks her tongue. "How did you get yourself into this condition? I'm sure I taught you to punch with a closed fist."

"Was kind of…falling off a cliff…not a lot of…options," Sarada heaves.

Mama's response is cut off when Uncle Naruto suddenly calls out. "Uh, people? We've got a problem!"

One of his clones snaps the neck of one of the creatures, dropping it on the floor just as another lunges in from behind, shoving its claws through the body to disperse it. The creature moves on the next nearest clone, but its fellow—the one Naruto killed—suddenly jerks. Its body flickers and shudders in static motions, almost the way a video tape does when it's being rewound.

And then, from one moment to the next, its neck is no longer hanging at an odd, broken angle, but snapped back to the way it should be.

"No way," Boruto breathes.

Beyond the protective, glowing circle that Uncle Naruto's clones have made around the kids and their mothers, other creatures are also getting to their feet. Even the one that was smashed into the wall twists and jerks, bones snapping back into place, and turns around to roar at them in fury.

"Something's bringing them back!" Konohamaru bites out, still in the throws of expelling Jikken's poison from his body.

"Edo Tensei?" Aunt Hinata wonders.

"No," Mama says, getting to her feet, a dark expression crossing her features. "They aren't reanimated corpses. It's more like they've…been rewound."

"What?" Uncle Naruto demands, grappling with another incoming enemy.

"Something put them back to their previous conditions," Mama clarifies.

"Almost like they have their own personal time-field," Sarada realises.

"What does that mean?" Uncle Naruto demands. "And how do we stop it?!"

"It means they can't die as long as whatever's controlling them keeps it up," Mama says. "If we're going to stop it, we need to—"

But she never gets the chance to share the solution, as just then, one of the curse mark creatures manages to vault over the wall of blazing clones and swipes wildly outwards, fingers grasping and talons extended. Before Mama can react, it swipes into the side of her throat, sending a spray of blood and muscle into the air.

"MAMA!" Sarada screams in horror and disbelief, frozen in her spot. Her mother's eyes go wide in surprise, body crumbling in on itself as the creature raises its hand to deliver the finishing blow.

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	30. Chapter Twenty-Six

Naruto closes his eyes, willing himself to block out the world around him. It's a little difficult at first—Sakura and Sasuke are talking in hushed tones, and he's curious what they're discussing—Kakashi is breathing loudly beside him—Naruto thinks he might be finding it a little hot, and wouldn't it make more sense to take off that mask—?

"Focus," his sensei reminds him, and he supposes his wavering attention must be showing on his face.

"It's hard to do this when I'm not about to die," he protests.

 _Or when the damn fox isn't making mean comments at me!_

But the demon is very obviously ignoring him at the moment in favour of his own anxiety.

"I could help motivate you in that respect," Kakashi offers, and Naruto splutters.

"Hey, no way! I can figure it out, just hang on a minute!" he yells, and redirects his efforts.

 _That's great! Say a bunch of nice stuff to me, and then threaten to kill me. Great job, sensei…_

Centring himself, Naruto tries to imagine the dank, secret place within him where he first encountered the fox. Without the adrenaline of an impending death, it's harder to find his way there, but he is eventually able to block out the creepily rustling desert sand and the constant assault of the hot sun.

The blinding light on the backs of his eyelids seems to fade, replaced with a growing darkness, and the complete absence of smell and sensation fills him. When he opens his eyes—or, well, when his subconscious opens his eyes—he is in that cavernous hallway, dim light and shadows surrounding him.

The echoing growls provide guidance, and he heads down the familiar path to the cage. Upon arriving, he sees the giant fox there, pacing back and forth with a restlessness he has never encountered.

Naruto opens his mouth, the ' _oi, you stupid fox!'_ on his lips before he stops himself. He figures it's probably not the right way to talk to someone he intends to ask a favour from, and so he switches tracks, tentatively stepping forward. "Hey…are you okay?"

The demon goes from distracted to dangerous in a split second. It snarls and jumps at the bars, hissing when they burn him, but not removing its giant maw.

 _None of your damn business, you insignificant sack of meat!_ he roars, teeth dripping and eyes gleaming with malintent.

Naruto cries out in protest, falling backward with a flap of his arms into the shin deep water that always fills this place.

"Oi! I'm just asking a question, no need to bite my head off!"

 _I'll do a lot worse to you one day!_

"Yeah, yeah…" Naruto grumbles, pulling himself to his feet. He frowns down at the water. "Hey, is there any reason why this place always looks like a flood? Do you, like, drool in your sleep or something? Wait…" He blinks at the water, a horrible thought occurring to him, and stares up at the fox accusingly. "Is this pee? Am I standing in pee?!"

He jumps to his feet, doing a ridiculous goosestep move trying to get out of the water, alternatively raising his feet out of the liquid.

 _Don't be an idiot,_ the fox growls at him, unimpressed. _This place is a manifestation of_ your _subconscious, not mine._

"Then how do I change it so we can hang out somewhere that doesn't feel like a sewer?" Naruto whines.

 _Why? So you can pretend I'm not in cage? I prefer to deal in reality. And the reality is that_ your _father locked me up in here._

"Yeah, and you killed him, so I guess things are square," Naruto shoots back, clenching his fists. He's always known the story, but it isn't until now that he has any direct, personal stake in it. "Did you kill my mom, too?"

 _She had it coming,_ the fox sneers. _She was like every other human, trying to chain up a force beyond comprehension. Like this Uchiha bitch, messing about with the timelines. Humans were never meant to possess this power._

It's on Naruto's tongue to jump to the defense of his mother, but he needs to get the fox to work with him. And picking a fight over a woman he never met isn't going to help. Not right now, anyway.

"Yeah, well, the whole timeline mess is what we're trying to stop. And since you have such a problem with it, you could get off your ass an help!"

Okay, maybe not as polite as he could be, but the thing _did_ just insult his mother.

 _I'm already helping,_ the fox sniffs. _It appears in the future, I'm meant to roll over and bare my throat to an insignificant whelp like you. I wonder how much innocent blood you spill in the pursuit of bending me to your will…_

"I'd never do something like that!"

 _So you say…_

"Hey, how about instead of getting pissed off at me like all this is something I did – because I haven't' actually done anything –"

 _Yet._

" – we get the hell out of this giant sandbox and you go yell at Future Me?" Naruto shouts. "Or ask your future self what the hell's going on, I bet he knows more!"

 _It wouldn't matter. If I'm apparently meant to forget it again, I see no point in going through the trouble,_ the fox drawls, and turns around in his cage, showing his back to Naruto in what is clear dismissal.

"Wait – you mean you've got to lose your memory too?" Naruto asks, confused. "How's that even possible? You're made up of chakra…how can something mess with _your_ memory?"

The fox turns its head, shooting him an irritated and exasperated look.

 _You really don't pay attention, do you? With that Sharingan of your friend's – the adult one – anything is possible._

"Hey…that's right! He could see you before, couldn't he?" Naruto questions. "No one's ever been able to do that before!"

 _The Sharingan sees chakra, and I am chakra. And with that eye of his – I haven't seen eyes like that since Madara…_

"Who?"

 _Never mind. The point is, if he chose to, he could control me._ The fox is quiet, calculating for a moment, and then an unpleasant snarl escapes him. _Perhaps he's the reason my future self is so blindly bonded to you. He forced me to submit. Or maybe he's controlling you by controlling me._

"Hey! No way! Sasuke wouldn't do that!" Naruto defends his friend.

 _He's an Uchiha. They're all selfish._

"Maybe they are, but Sasuke would see that as cheating! You can't say you're strong if you have to hypnotise people into doing what you want them to! He wouldn't do that to me, and I wouldn't let him do that to you!"

The fox scoffs. _Ah, yes. And you're about to tell me how you don't desire to possess all the power I can offer you without having to negotiate with me for it._

"I want to use my own power!" Naruto snaps. "And if I had the choice, I'd only accept yours if you wanted to lend it to me on your own. Which you have. 'Cos we'd be dead a bunch of times if you hadn't helped out, so I'm not going to lie and say I don't appreciate that! And it looks like we're still stuck together in the future, so maybe, somehow, we work it out. Maybe we even become friends?"

The Nine Tails stares at him for a full minute, and then erupts into booming laughter.

 _There are no limits to your delusion, are there? You're such a naïve kit, I will thoroughly enjoy watching your childish fantasies come crumbling down around you…and when they do, I'll be waiting._

Naruto crosses his arms and glares at him. "So does that mean you're going to get over your butthurt and help out?"

The fox shoots him a sinister grin. _Very well. But only because I want to have a conversation with myself. Perhaps I can find a way to stop whatever happens._

"Yeah, good luck with that," Naruto mutters. "So you can sense where you are, right? The other you?"

 _Don't ask questions that you already know the answer too._

Naruto rolls his eyes. "Fine. So what do I need to do to help Kakashi-sensei open the portal? I'm guessing it'll be different then when me and Sasuke helped him before?"

 _He'll need more chakra then before as he intends to cross with you all into his little prison dimension. And then out of it again. The Uchiha brat may not be a sufficient anchor within the chakra circuit. The girl can help, even if she isn't as strong as her future self._

"So all of us have to help him? And that'll work?"

 _Or it'll burn them all up from the inside._

Deep, booming laughter echoes in the chamber now.

"Hey, if anything happens to them, it means you and me are stuck here forever!" Naruto snaps. "And even if I give in and let you take me over, you're still going to be stuck in this giant desert with nothing to do. _Forever_."

 _You assume this dimension is empty._

"I…well…wait. Is it?"

 _How the hell would I know?_

"You really want to take the chance?"

The fox grumbles and looks away. _Sand_ is _irritating anyhow._

But there's something thoughtful in his eyes, like he's remembering something, and Naruto suspects that isn't the only reason he would want to leave this place behind.

"Alright. So no burning up my teammates," Naruto reminds him.

 _Feh. Fine._

Naruto blinks at the agreement and opens his eyes, finding himself staring up at an expectant Kakashi. He grins and offers him a thumbs up. "He's in."

"For what price?" Kakashi asks carefully.

Naruto considers relaying his conversation, but somehow feels the fox might not want him sharing how upset he is. So, he shrugs, and rubs the back of his head, "He says he hates deserts."

"Hm," Kakashi replies, thoughtful, not necessarily believing his student, but choosing not to pursue it. "Alright. Then we should plan this out." He glances over to where Sakura and Sasuke are, opening his mouth to call them over, but then pauses.

"Let's decide what we tell them without mentioning the Nine Tails, hm?" Kakashi suggests instead.

"Yeah, okay," Naruto says, thoughtful. "He said it's going to take all of us anyway…"

Kakashi half-listens to him, while observing his other two students out of the corner of his eye. Despite what he told Naruto before, he can't help think that if this endeavour kills them all, maybe the future couple deserves a few minutes to themselves.

Sasuke, for his part, wishes Kakashi and Naruto would finish up whatever "secret" meeting they need to have. The idea that their sensei needs the moron instead of him rubs him the wrong way. It's been happening more often, but never so overtly as this –

"He's not going to replace you, you know." Sasuke glances up at Sakura, who is offering him a wan smile. "Kakashi-sensei, I mean. You guys have too much in common. You're probably his favourite student, even if he's talking to Naruto right now."

"Tch. As if I care," Sasuke retorts, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"You so do," she teases him.

He glowers. "What's it to you, anyway?"

Her smile disappears and she looks at her feet. "I just don't like seeing you upset."

Which makes his stomach flip uncomfortably, because he remembers what she said earlier.

 _"I would give anything to protect your happiness. Because…you are the person that is most precious to me."_

He has never pictured himself as being important to anyone, and the idea is unsettling. He has no idea how to deal with it, particularly from someone as warm and caring as Sakura.

"Whatever," he mutters awkwardly.

"I know you don't like me," she goes on softly, looking anywhere but him. "And the fact that in the future we… well I know it must be confusing. And maybe you're not happy about it now, but – and even if I don't remember saying this – I can't imagine a future where I didn't do everything I could to help you achieve all your goals and make it so that you could be happy. I would do anything for you, Sasuke."

"Sakura, I…I don't…" he falters here, because there are literally _no words_ that feel right at the moment. Even seeing their future selves with his own eyes has left him with more questions than answers, and trying to quantify that now is impossible.

"It's fine," she says, smiling in that way that even he can tell she's upset. "I just wanted to let you know, I'd…understand if you were disappointed is all."

She turns to edge away from him and Sasuke's hand snaps out before he is entirely aware of moving, fingers wrapping around her wrist to keep her there.

"I'm not disappointed," he blurts out as she looks back at him, eyes wide. He quickly releases his hold on her, as if her skin burns him. "And I don't…I don't _dislike_ you."

"S-Sasuke?"

"I just…can't afford to like you right now," he continues awkwardly, wincing, because that sounds bad. From the way her shoulders slump, she thinks so too, and _this is so frustrating!_

How exactly is his supposed to put any of this into words?

Like the fact he'll never admit it out loud, but he gets a smug satisfaction watching Naruto constantly strike out with her. Or that a small part of him is actually flattered at how steadfast she is in her affections – every other girl that has liked him is fickle or easily dissuaded. How he's still utterly shocked at he kindness towards him and everyone else, and that maybe, despite his efforts to focus on more important matters, he does get a little jealous when someone else pays attention to her and makes her smile.

How it's both comforting and painful when she fusses over him, because no one has done that since his mother died, but he can't let himself accept it because it will make him weaker. He can't rely on that comfort, because it will keep him from achieving his goals.

Or even worse, if Itachi somehow finds out that Sasuke does care, what's to stop him from taking her too?

"Sasuke, I know you don't feel for me what I feel for you," Sakura tells him quietly. "But I can wait. Now that we've seen – now that I know, I can wait."

Sasuke makes an annoyed noise.

"You don't understand. It's not that I don't – right now I just –" He clenches his fists, utterly infuriated at his inability to finish a simple sentence. "This doesn't feel real."

"… What do you mean?"

"Even after meeting Sarada, even after seeing how the two of us…" he begins, haltingly, knowing that if it weren't for the situation they are in today he would never say any of this, "it doesn't feel real. This... future we're going to have, with us, and a child, and… and being considered heroes. None of it – I can't even imagine it."

"But Sasuke, you…you had that once, you _must_ be able to—"

"And _he_ took it," Sasuke replies fiercely. "And until I kill him, I can't think about anything else."

"Killing him won't fix things," she tells him sadly. "Revenge can't bring back what you lost."

"Neither will pretending it didn't happen."

"I never said it would!" she cries. "Sasuke, you know that's not what the future is, right? No one is going to – no one _could_ – replace what he took. Is that…is that why…?"

"Why what?"

"Why you were so cold to Sarada," Sakura finishes, her words becoming more firm with realisation. "She reminded you, didn't she? Of what it was like, not being the only one. And she was giving you all this hope, even though you didn't want to have it. And with all that, knowing you still have to go after your brother –"

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke insists stiffly. "Especially not right now when we all might die anyway."

"We might not though."

"It still doesn't change things. All of this might as well be genjutsu for all the meaning it has right now."

"If it's a genjutsu, why haven't you broken it yet?" she challenges quietly. Sasuke pauses at this, struggling to come up with an acceptable answer. She doesn't give him a chance, instead going on, "I think it's because you don't want it to be. Whatever you say about not being able to feel, I think you do. But if it helps –"

She suddenly reaches over and brushes her palm against his cheek, making him go utterly immobile. "What are you –?"

"A victim of genjutsu can break out of it if their chakra is disrupted," she informs him, voice even as if she's attempting to be casual.

A wrinkle appears in her forehead, and abruptly a warm, tingling feeling radiates from where she touches him through the rest of his body. Her chakra races through his own chakra network, and it feels like a soothing wave has broken over him. For whatever reason, that coolness does nothing to dull the flare of heat in his chest.

"See?" she says softly. "This is real."

"That…only works if it's someone outside the genjutsu," he says, trying to keep his voice steady and detached. He reaches up to pull her hand off of him, fingers wrapped around her wrist once more, but he delays from completing the action.

It occurs to him right then that her face is very close to his; much closer than acceptable distance, and definitely in his personal space. And getting closer.

He suspects with sudden, absolute intuition that she's going to kiss him.

He should be moving away. His initial, automatic reaction whenever Sakura gets too close to him, too comfortable and familiar, is to pull away, to dissuade her with a caustic remark. Right now, though, something like panic is rooting him to the spot.

 _What the hell am I supposed to do?_

Maybe he should just accept it. She's going to be his wife after all. Obviously, there will be more of _this_ in the future. And, alright, he _may_ be sort of curious – but what if he's terrible at this? And what if the other two see – ?!

Which is, of course, the time when Naruto appears between them, scowling. "Are you kidding me?! The world is ending and Kakashi-sensei is about to do something really stupid and you guys choose _now_ to play kissy-face?!"

"Augh! Naruto!" Sakura yells, face burning as she takes a swing at the blond boy. Sasuke's own cheeks are too warm, his heart beating more than it should considering he's been standing still.

Both get worse when he looks up to see Kakashi leering down at him through his mask.

"Don't say a word," he growls, trying to will his heart rate to fall back to normal.

"And you're going to stop me…how?"

Sasuke grinds his teeth and settles for watching Sakura throttle Naruto, pretending their teacher is invisible.

"That's enough, Sakura. If you knock him out, all of our careful planning will be useless," Kakashi calls.

With one final vicious shake that has Naruto falling on his backside, Sakura lets his go.

 _This is the last time he interrupts us, shannaro! Damn it! We were_ so _close!_

"What _is_ the plan?" Sasuke asks sourly, avoiding her eye.

"We're going to form another chakra circuit," Kakashi explains. He raises a questioning eyebrow at Sakura, who nods; she's familiar with the technique, at least in theory. "I'm already running at my limit after everything today, so I'll need every bit of help you can give me. Sasuke, you're Sharingan will help me anchor mine. Naruto's got the chakra and Sakura, your control can help stabilise the transfer. This is going to be a lot more work than just a summon, so I need to know you can manage."

"Of course!" she agrees.

"Assuming I survive getting us through not one, but both portals, I won't be able to do very much," Kakashi goes on to warn them. "We're hoping to come out close enough to your Future Selves that you can warn them about Jikken, but after that, you get yourselves somewhere safe and wait it out."

The kids exchange meaningful glances, and Kakashi narrows his eyes. "Could you at least pretend you're going to follow my orders?"

"Why? Sakura's the one in charge," Naruto reminds him.

Kakashi sighs. "Today's just one of those days, isn't it?"

"It doesn't matter, let's get out of here," Sasuke says. "What do you need us to do?"

Soon, Kakashi finds himself kneeling in the sand, Sakura behind him with her hands on his shoulders. Naruto and Sasuke are on either side, both of them with one hand covering hers, the other fastened around Kakashi's upper arm. All four of them are connected, now, and Kakashi isn't really the type to pray, but if he were, this moment would be right for it.

"Does anyone have any last words before we try this?" Kakashi asks mildly as he begins to call up his portal. "There's a high chance we're all about to die."

" _Tch_. I wish we had a better plan."

"Yeah, but if we make it through, it'll be like the ultimate team-up, believe it!"

Sakura remains furious. "Naruto, if I end up being the only person on this team to die without being kissed, I will murder you."

ナルト

The creature's lethal claws move in a downward arc achingly slowly, and Sarada's shock muddled brain wonders if perhaps time itself hasn't slowed down for her after all. Nothing else makes sense—none of this makes sense—and she feels like throwing up again but her stomach is empty and she can't, she has to move, she has to do something –

 _Crunch!_

The beast suddenly goes rigid, emitting an agonized scream.

A pale hand has snapped out, wrapping around the thick, blood-slicked wrist and clenching tight. There's the sound of grinding bone, and the beast snarls, bending backwards, trying to get away the vice like grip of unyielding fingers. Green eyes glint with as much menace as any Mangekyō Sharingan ever could as Mama staggers to her feet, gasping for breath from a ruined throat that is already pulling itself together.

"That actually stung a bit," she rasps, blood trickling from her mouth as she speaks. A black marking blossoms from the seal in her forehead, snaking down her face and neck, around her arms and beyond. "But you'll have to hit a lot harder than that!"

 _Mitotic Regeneration!_

Sarada can barely comprehend it. She's heard that her mother could do this—Aunt Shizune told her stories when she asked about Mama's seal, but she's never seen it with her own eyes.

Mama tightens her grip on the curse mark beast, and blood spurts as she shatters its arm, throwing him across the span of the cave.

"Sarada…your mother…" Mitsuki murmurs, awe keeping him from finishing his sentence.

Sarada feels her trembling lips form into a relieved smile. "I know, right?"

A few more beasts manage to break through the barrier.

There is blur of blue light to the left, and for a moment Sarada thinks that Mitsuki is once more using his strange chakra powers. But he is kneeling by Konohamaru, trying to help him to his feet.

The whirling dynamo of chakra is actually Aunt Hinata.

 _"Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms!"_ she chants, blue flames flickering over her arms as she moves. The shape of the blaze in the darkness resembles lions, with gaping maws and teeth, and lashing out at a few stragglers. " _Sixteen Palms! Thirty-Two Palms! Sixty-Four Palms."_

She is a blur that is almost too fast to see, and all around her the creatures drop to the ground, like puppets whose strings have been cut. Some of them lie twitching, trying to move, but unable to.

 _At least until they're brought back…which, how is that happening?_

"None of you will lay a hand on our children," Aunt Hinata says with a quiet promise that makes goosebumps rise across Sarada's skin.

"Go Mom," Boruto breathes, sounding completely surprised. Sarada can't blame him—he was passed out the last time his mother took such an active roll in a fight. She remembers watching in shock as Aunt Hinata faced off against the alien creatures that abducted Lord Seventh and even managed to injure her father.

"Hinata! Sakura!" Uncle Naruto calls, as the curse mark beings that Aunt Hinata just took out begin to do that same, jerking spasm that signifies they're about to be brought back to their previous condition. "Are you guys alright?"

"We're fine," Mama grunts, wiping smears of blood from her newly healed throat; her voice sounds a little rough. "But we could be fighting these guys forever."

"Save your strength for when we need it then," Uncle Naruto says, and closes his eyes in concentration. A moment later, Sarada jumps in surprise as a bright red film begins to spread across her skin.

"What the…?"

She isn't the only one, either.

All of the Konoha shinobi are suddenly wrapped in the strange, bubbling red energy. It looks like they are all on fire, the chakra an extension of Uncle Naruto's extensive reserves.

Sarada feels the bones of her arm reform and whatever other injuries her mother didn't get to vanish.

"The Nine Tails healing cloak will see to whatever injuries you all still have, and replenish your chakra," Uncle Naruto continues, eyes flitting to where his clones continue to deal with the beasts that are unrelenting even in the face of Mama and Aunt Hinata. "It's the best I can do for now, but it makes it easier to keep track of everyone while we figure out our next move!"

"It helps, but it won't stop a fatal wound," Mama says grimly. "And even my healing has limits, especially since I can't summon Lady Katsuyu here."

Sarada exchanges grim looks with Boruto and Mitsuki; they all know what has to be done.

"Teisōko has to be killed," Sarada announces, as two shadow clones are impaled nearby and disappear; almost immediately, two others take their place, maintaining the human shield around the Konoha shinobi. "Someone has to take her eyes and set her on fire. We think it's the only way to kill her."

"We?" Mama asks.

Sarada hesitates, unsure if she's supposed to say anything. It seems Konohamaru doesn't have the same qualms.

"Sarada encountered a past version of Itachi Uchiha," he tells them, causing the other three adults to startle in surprise.

"It was when Mama and I— _past_ -Mama and I—got separated from the others," Sarada confirms.

"So _that's_ why Past You was so jumpy," Uncle Naruto realises.

"Are you alright?" Mama asks Sarada.

"Of course I am!"

"He didn't…he didn't try anything…?"

"You remember that he was a good guy, right, Sakura?" Uncle Naruto deadpans.

Mama scowls. "I know he was. But back then, I didn't. No one knew. And he was very good at making people believe the worst about him."

They exchange dark looks that Sarada is definitely going to ask about after this is all over.

"What I don't get, is if he got pulled into this, why he didn't come and freaking help us," Konohamaru grumbles.

"He said he couldn't interfere because it might change things," Sarada reminds apologetically.

"He was right," Uncle Naruto says grimly. "If we were to lose him now, before all the rest happened?"

Mama doesn't seem much happier about this, but she nods.

"Alright. Naruto, you have to go."

"Huh?"

"If this Uchiha woman is so powerful that she can keep reviving the dead—if _Itachi_ was worried about her, even Sasuke will have difficulty with her," Mama orders. "It's going to take you both, and lucky for the world, power-hungry gods are your specialty."

Uncle Naruto shoots her a wan smirk. "You're not coming? Last time it took three of us to take one down."

"Last time we didn't have kids to protect."

"Oi! We can protect ourselves!" Boruto snaps, and as if to prove a point he hurls a shuriken into the forehead of a nearby beast.

"Nobody's more aware of that then us," Uncle Naruto says, gazing down at his son with pride despite the circumstances. "It'll be the same as when we fought Momoshiki and Kinshiki. If all else fails…"

"We're your last hope," Boruto finishes.

"Right," the Hokage says, and backs away. "But I doubt it'll come to that , believe it! You guys hold the line here! Sasuke and I got this!"

He vanishes, although his clones remain in place surrounding them, still providing fodder for the curse mark creatures.

"Alright, Naruto might end up needing whatever chakra he can get, I don't want him using too much of it on keeping us protected," Mama says, considering the red energy surrounding her. "The sooner we get rid of these things, the sooner the original can focus."

"We can't kill them for obvious reasons, but perhaps we can corral them again?" Mitsuki suggests. "They wouldn't be dead, which wouldn't cause them to reset."

"That'd be like herding cats," Boruto grumbles.

"There has to be something we're missing," Mama says. "If whatever is resetting their bodies were just a generally applied jutsu, everyone within the area of effect would be touched by it. I wouldn't have had to activate my seal to survive."

"So, somehow they're being affected on an individual basis, with their own individual – resets, I guess – like a kind of infinite loop," Aunt Hinata guesses.

"What if it's like a circuit?" Konohamaru suggests. "As long as whatever is producing the energy to keep them going is accessible, they'll keep resetting."

"But if we can break it, we can stop them from regenerating and they'll stay down for the count," Mama realises, eyes gleaming gamely. "Hinata – can you see anything like that on them? Invisible threads, or…?"

The veins around Aunt Hinata's eyes become more defined as she stares out at their surrounding attackers, jaw set in determination.

"Nothing," she says after a few seconds, sounding frustrated. "There isn't any connecting chakra, or evidence of two-way transfer…wait." She narrows her eyes even more, gazing at the nearest beast. "There's something there…on the left ventricle of the heart…some kind of…sigil. It looks like it's been burned into the tissue somehow."

"That would have required precise surgery," Konohamaru says.

"Kabuto," Mama mutters under her breath.

"No," Mitsuki says. "Kabuto was likely under the same impression as my parent that Teisōko had died. He's not here, anyway. But I suspect Jikken is disturbingly good with a knife…"

"In any case, it's a start," Mama says. She shoots a grin at Aunt Hinata. "I'll hold them and you punch, and we'll take it from there?"

"I know it's a departure from what you're used to," she replies primly, and then glances over to her son's teacher. With a meaningful note in her voice, she says, "Konohamaru?"

"Got it, Mrs. Boss," the jōnin says, and begins to herd his students behind them. "Get ready, kiddos, we're getting out of here."

And then it's just a flurry of limbs and the sounds of battle. While Mama and Aunt Hinata test their theory on the nearest curse mark beast, Konohamaru leads his team through the ongoing skirmishes between the dwindling number of clones and beasts.

"Why aren't the clones replacing themselves?" Sarada cries out to Boruto as they duck an arm full of claws passing over their heads.

"Maybe he thinks Mom and Aunt Sakura have it handled?" Boruto counters, aiming a kick when a snarling face gets too close to him.

But he sounds worried.

"Or something happened," Mitsuki suggests, voicing Sarada's own fears.

She squints ahead, sees the path through which Konohamaru intends to take them. That way will bring them back to the mouth of the cave, out of the direct line of combat. She knows that's what her mother would want, is expecting her and her teammates to wait out the rest of the battle somewhere safe –

The red cloak surrounding her, slowly strengthening her arms and refuelling her chakra levels abruptly disappears.

She barely has time to consider the implication when Boruto lets out a sound like he's been punched. They exchange sharp, knowing glances, and then both of them veer left, forging a different path through the brawl.

"Sarada!" she hears her sensei yell. "Boruto!"

But they ignore him.

Because if Uncle Naruto has suddenly stopped protecting them, but Mama and Aunt Hinata are still fighting, it means something's happened to distract him.

They manage to get several feet up the rickety metal staircase before they are grabbed from behind. Expecting it to be an enemy, Sarada whirls around and aims a punch, only to pull back at the last second when her furious sensei glares down at them.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demands.

"Going to help!"

"No, you're not! Did you miss the part about your moms' wanting me to get you all out of here?"

"We can't take the chance that something goes wrong up there!" Sarada protests.

"You seriously think your dads' can't handle it?"

"And if something's wrong?" Boruto demands, standing beside Sarada. "Why's the Nine Tails chakra gone if they're handling it!?"

"It…it's probably just more challenging than he expected," Konohamaru hedges. "We have to trust that your father and Sarada's father have it covered."

"Until the battle is won, it is illogical to bank on a forgone outcome," Mitsuki points out. "Besides. The ultimate goal is to summon my parent's younger self here. If she is successful, and he is harmed in anyway, all of this ends. So if she does succeed…"

"Yeah! Someone has to protect old snake face if he comes through," Boruto agrees, obviously agreeing with anything that will get him up the stairs and closer to his dad faster.

Konohamaru studies each of his students' unflinching faces, and then sends a nervous glance over to where their mothers are still fighting.

Then he groans, shoulders sagging. "I expect expensive gifts on my grave once your parents' kill me, hey?"

"My parent isn't really the gift-giving type," Mitsuki replies pleasantly, which causes their sensei to turn so green Sarada wonders if there isn't some of Jikken's poison still in his system.

"Alright – if we do this, we do it smart! Everyone in formation!" Konohamaru barks. "We move quickly, and try not to get caught up in skirmishes!"

That's easier said then done, it turns out.

Several of the curse mark beasts, stragglers that aren't occupied with Mama and Aunt Hinata, follow them up the spiraling staircase, forcing them to fight as they go. Sarada can't help the elation she feels at being able to use her arms again.

The feeling of jaws breaking against her fist as she sends the curse mark creature careening through walls and falling off the scaffolding is heartening. Boruto and two shadow clones engage in his usual bait-and-switch techniques, while Mitsuku slingshots their enemies away from them.

Konohamaru attracts the most trouble, though, and she thinks it's purposeful. By making himself a bigger target to the mindless beasts, they leave Sarada and her teammates alone. Eventually, he and the creatures surround him begin to fight their way into one of the grottos off to the side.

"Go on without me!" he shouts at them. "Help your dads!"

Before they can argue with him, a wall of earth shoots up between them, walling him and his opponents off from the rest.

"Konohamaru-sensei!" Sarada cries, knowing that by corralling the stragglers in there with him he is buying them time, but at the cost of his own life.

"Come on!" Boruto says, pushing her farther up the stares, and she steels herself to keep on track.

 _He'll be fine. He is Uncle Naruto's student, he_ has _to be fine!_

The rest of their journey upward is thankfully free of conflict, and they make it to the top of the dome.

"Come on," Mitsuki says, motioning at a distant cavern that is almost hidden in the shadows. "It's through here."

They hurry through, creeping through a narrow passage, until they come to a small antechamber. It seems even smaller due to the sheer amount of technological equipment that has been crammed inside, and because of the gleaming, yellowish barrier that takes up the centre of the room.

And standing just outside of it –

"Papa!" Sarada cries, at the same time that Boruto yells, "Dad!"

As they dart forward, though, Mitsuki snatches them backward and snaps, "Careful! We're not alone."

He is looking beyond Sarada's father and uncle, an expression of loathing and fear on his face. Sarada understands why a second later when she follows his gaze.

Teisōko Uchiha is the stuff of nightmares.

The most immediately noticeable feature are her eyes. Not because of their Sharingan, however – _and I've seen that pattern somewhere, haven't I? –_ but because someone has cut away her eyelids to ensure they are open at all times.

Blood is caked across her cheeks, old and black, staining the rest of her face and seeping into her mouth. Cracked and rotted teeth pull into a grimace. Her skeletal body is covered is pale, almost translucent in the harsh artificial light; she is utterly bare, with sigils tattooed across her skin.

 _No, not tattooed. Those were carved!_

Silver white scars criss-cross the rest of her body; the oldest look like they are battle scars, but the majority of them appear to be left over from surgical procedures. Her head has been completely shaved, to make way for more chords and wires that seem to have been drilled into her skull.

 _Which explains why she's been restrained…_

But it's not only by chains and manacles. Countless thick black electrical wires are fed into her at strategic places in her body – the largest chakra clusters, Sarada realises – and into the base of her spine. Likely it is tapped into her neural network. Other tubes feed blood and nutritional substances directly into her veins.

Jikken stands beside her. He looks worse for the wear – he's been clawing at his belly where Mitsuki sealed his chakra – but is beaming wildly at Papa and Uncle Naruto.

Who are utterly stationary.

For a moment Sarada doesn't understand why. Until she realises that they a frozen in the act of moving forward. Papa is crouched, arm by his side about to draw his katana, while Uncle Naruto is actually hovering in midair, like he was flying forward when he was caught up in…whatever the strange yellow energy is that surrounds the dais where Teisōko resides.

Sarada's eyes widen and she peers with her Sharingan, seeing that there are layers to the air she didn't notice before. Papa and Uncle Naruto are trapped what looks like a giant, frozen wave of energy. Beyond the barrier – at its epicentre – Teisoko and Jikken are protected and somehow still mobile.

Glancing at their feet, she sees that there is a similar seal to the one she destroyed at the bottom of the chamber; there is a gratuitous amount of dark red stains lining the ridges that she instinctively knows belong to Mitsuki. Wires and circuits have been nailed in a circle around it, likely to harness whatever power it is meant to produce, and ostensibly to protect the people inside of it from any outside interruptions.

"What the hell did you do to them?!" Boruto yells, face pale.

Only the woman's eyes move.

"I have done nothing," she replies, her voice like dead leaves or the rattling warning of a deadly snake. "They attempted to cross into my barrier of their own volition."

"And now they're trapped," Jikken sneers.

"Like flies in amber," Teisōko says mildly, like she's remarking on the weather. "Time bends for no man." She smirks, eyes flitting toward Sarada and her team. "It does not matter how powerful you are. If time stops for you, you can't use any of that power."

"And we can cipher it as we see fit," Jikken giggles.

The unblinking Sharingan flit to the clone, and something like disgust rises there. "Quite…"

 _She's not as impressed with him as he is with her…_

"The last boost the boy and the goddess will need to open the door!"

He looks as giddy as a child on his birthday, utterly at ease now that his mistress is behind him.

"You can't do this," Sarada protests. "This will destroy more than it will fix!"

"The snake man's death is a test, one that must be performed before I to my former self," Teisōko says coolly. "Many wrongs will be righted, and when that is done, I will be free of my family." Then her eyes fall again on Sarada, then move to Papa. "Although it appears I may have to do some culling."

Jikken sniggers and reaches for a nearby console lever. "Farewell, children."

"No!" Boruto yells as the man pulls down on the lever.

There is a sputtering noise.

Sarada and her teammates watch in horror as the world begins to rip apart, the very air crackling and wavering at the seams. A portal opens directly in front of her, separating her from the frozen forms of Papa and Uncle Naruto. Jikken is poised, an expression of bliss on his face, fingers twitching with glee as he prepares to reach forward and grasp at his prey.

There's a sudden flickering of light, a sound like rushing wind, and then the portal is abruptly gone.

In it's place, four very familiar figures appear.

"Hey, guys," young Naruto Uzumaki beams, utterly ignorant to the chaos he and his team just appeared in the middle of. "Did you miss us?"

つづく

* * *

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	31. Chapter Twenty-Seven

"Oh, _man_ ," Naruto groans, rubbing the back of his head, "the was _hard_! Forget sleeping for a week when we get home, I'm sleeping for a _month_!"

"You…" Jikken begins, utterly frozen in his shock, hand still reaching out aimlessly.

Sakura promptly goes to her hands and knees and throws up. Kakashi sways out of the way, only narrowly missing the spray.

"Can we…never do this again?" she pants. "Please?"

Their grand entrance has caused a momentary lull, the air heavy with a confused tension and sense of expectation. Sasuke is glad for it, as it gives him a chance to find his fotting. Even if most of the chakra to fuel their escape from the other dimension came from Kakashi and Naruto, he still feels like he did after escaping the Forest of Death—tired, aching and with bruises in places he didn't know could bruise.

There's no time to rest, however; immediately he is analyzing the scene he and his teammates have ended up in. Yet another dank cavern somewhere, with more bulky computers and wires— _another of Orochimaru's lairs?_ —and the air thick with the smell of blood and ozone. There's a strange, yellow wall of chakra all around them, and caught immobile in the middle, he sees his future self scowling vacantly into space.

 _No, not into space_ , he realizes, turning fractionally to one side. _He's staring at_ her.

"Oh, gross," Sakura moans, unconsciously voicing his own reaction to this enemy they have heard so much about, "is that even a _person_?"

"How is this possible?" the skeletal, red-eyed woman in restraints snarls, fury rolling off of her in almost tangible waves. Sasuke can't help the physical shiver at the sight of another Sharingan—one that _isn't_ his brother's—blazing at him with such hatred.

Except for all his crimes against Sasuke, Itachi's eyes have never been hateful; distant and criticizing—even empty—but never filled with hate.

"Actually, it's thanks to you," Kakashi replies through clenched teeth. His left eye is tightly shut, and Sasuke suspects he will not longer be able to call up the Sharingan today. "I guess you've been trying to open a portal from here, and it thinned the walls between dimensions just enough for us to tag along."

"Well, this just became a whole lot more complicated," a mild, unfamiliar voice remarks from beyond the wall of chakra. A pale boy stands beside Sarada and Boruto, looking remarkably composed in contrast to their shell-shock.

 _Mitsuki, I guess_.

Boruto is unsurprisingly the first to recover.

"What the hell are you guys doing?!" he fumes. "You're going to get us all killed!"

"Hey! Shut up and be grateful!" Naruto shoots back, unrepentant. "We're here to kick some ass and show you how it's done—!"

Kakashi gives a sudden violent, wet cough and pitches forward.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cries. Her proximity to the ground allows her to sweep under him and catch him before he hits the ground. Sakura grunts with effort, lowering him to the ground. Blood blossoms across his mask, leaking from his eyes and nose.

The movement seems to free Jikken from whatever stupor was caused by Team 7's entrance.

"Returning was a mistake!" he snarls at them. " _I will rip you from time!"_

He charges at Naruto.

"Dad! Look out!"

But Naruto's reflexes have always been mediocre. It is Sasuke body that snaps into movement; he yanks his supply pack from his waist with one hand and tosses it forward.

 _Tiger! Boar! Ox! Dog! Snake!_

At the last second he snatches Naruto from the enemy's grasping hand, turning the pack into a decoy of the blond boy.

"Another distraction would be good right now," he hisses, wiling his substitution to stick around a few more seconds to occupy Jikken.

Naruto's face is open with surprise, but he nods quickly. "Right!"

A wall of orange clones appears around Jikken, just as Sasuke's substitution vanishes. "Sakura?"

"I've got Kakashi-sensei, you guys do what you have to!" she calls back, dragging their teacher away from the fight that is about to break out, and the terrifying human skeleton that is Teisōko Uchiha.

"Don't touch the barrier!" Sarada warns when Sakura starts to head for the other genin. "If you go through it, time will stop for you, the same as it did for our dads."

 _Good to know,_ Sakura decides, eying the rippling wall of chakra warily, _but that means there's nowhere to get to safety!_

"We have to get in there," she hears Boruto declare, but she doesn't let his words mean anything to her. The reality is plain—she and her team are on their own for now.

Naruto is just as aware of this fact, and utterly at a loss at what he's supposed to do. His very bones feel on fire from the amount of chakra that he's been drawing to him today, and at some point he's going to hit his limit. And on top of that, if Sasuke's theory is true, Jikken might not be an enemy that can ever die.

 _Doesn't mean I won't keep going as long as possible, but I'm beginning to miss cat-retrieval missions!_

He starts to summon another bevvy of clones, but is stopped by a nudge to the side.

"Go after Teisoko," Sasuke orders, pushing himself forward, ready to face Jikken once he disperses the first wave of clones. "Even an idiot like you can hit a stationary target."

Naruto snorts—backhanded compliments are Sasuke's way, after all—but a flash of angry energy flits through him.

 _You cannot go up against her,_ the fox snarls within him. _She has an evolved Sharingan and I have no intention of being controlled by another cursed Uchiha._

 _Damn it_ , Naruto thinks; the demon is right, and he can't even explain that to Sasuke. Especially not right now.

Thinking quickly, he retorts, "Oh yeah? That's your story? You sure it's not because you're scared to face Granny-No-Eyelids over there?"

Sasuke scowls. "Naruto—"

"I got this," he replies, shoving Sasuke aside with his shoulder. "Go find you own big bad villain to fight. I'll call you if I need moral support."

Sasuke blinks at this, and then smirks. "Whatever, loser. Try not to die."

He uses a _Shushin_ to vanish.

" _None of you_ better die!" Sarada orders, backing away from the wall of yellow chakra. "We've got a plan, so hang in there as long as possible!"

She, Boruto and Mitsuki vanish.

"No problem," Naruto mutters, just as Jikken materializes in front of him, wrath set into his features.

"Alright, you creepy, albino clone of my dad," Naruto announces, shoving a finger practically into the man's face. "Let's dance!"

He calls up another wave of shadow clones, twelve doppelgangers that encircle Jikken, each armed with a kunai. In tandem, they throw their blades at Jikken, who twists his body in a flurry of deflective movements. Despite his speed, he cannot stay completely aware at all times, and Naruto uses his distraction to sneak in beneath him and deliver a powerful uppercut, blasting him into the air.

Four of the clones seize Naruto and toss him upward as well, allowing him to fly over Jikken's head just as gravity pulls them back to the ground. The clones grab Jikken as he gets closer, immobilizing him as Naruto lands, on the man's back, driving him downward with his knees.

Only for Jikken's body to vanish beneath them and for Naruto to hit the ground painfully.

A cold wave of awareness makes the skin on the back of his neck break out into goosebumps, and Naruto barely reacts in time as Jikken's blade heads toward his shoulder with full force. Naruto only just skids out of the way, the earth where he was kneeling crumbling beneath the force of Jikken's failed blow.

The rest of Naruto's doubles now launch themselves into the air, spinning and somersaulting on their way down. They rain blows upon Jikken's head and shoulders, but the pale man is still fast enough to deflect them. He grabs hold of knees and ankles, savagely throwing them off of him. Two clones launch another headfirst at him, but Jikken dodges to one side, kicking the doppelganger in the ribs to force him to disappear. Several feet away, two remaining clones summon a Rasengan.

Meanwhile, Sasuke takes a run at Teisoko, putting on a burst of speed while keeping his eyes lowered to the ground. He doesn't know the complete list of abilities this woman and her MAngekyou Sharingan might have, but if there's anything his encounters with his brother have taught him, it is not to open himself to weakness before he has to. He just has to make it close enough to deal a fatal blow, and he doesn't need to look at her face to do that.

However, he quickly learns, she is not without her defenses.

"Sasuke! Watch out!" Sakura's warning draws his attention at the last moment

Abruptly, as Sasuke hurtles toward Teisoko, the air in front of her warbles in a familiarly worrying way. He jut skids out of that space in time to avoid a time portal. While he recovers, that one closes and another opens directly in his path, forcing him to tuck and roll to keep from slipping into it.

 _At this rate, she's going to trap me somewhere before I can kill her!_

Sakura watches all of this wait baited breath, torn by the need to help her teammates, but knowing that Kakashi can't keep himself safe while he's unconscious. If Sarada is to be believed, his life is just as important to the future as her, Sasuke's and NArutos. On the other hand, she also knows how important it is to get to Teisoko and stop her.

She eyes the computer consoles off to the side, and the switch Jikken pulled earlier. It crackles and snaps with sparks of electricity, and the air still shimmers in the spot that brought Sakura and her team through. It might be that it's still active!

If all of Teisoko's focus is on Sasuke, and Jikken is too busy with Naruto, then neither might notice Sakura until the last moment. Maybe, just maybe, she can turn off one of the machines—or even all of them—and keep anymore portals from opening.

It's another moment of deliberation, feeling torn between saving her sensei and the chance at saving everything else, before she summons a clone to watch over Kakashi. Hopefully, the enemy will be too preoccupied with her friends to notice her slipping along the periphery.

Meanwhile, as Naruto continues to carry out his onslaught upon Jikken, he gets the sense that something is not the same as before.

 _He's slower,_ Naruto realises, diving down to avoid a stray kunai. _Why hasn't he been teleporting to avoid my attacks?_

 _Because he can't,_ the fox says, and sounds like he's just realized it too.

 _Huh? Why not?_

 _Someone sealed his abilities. Can't you sense the seal on his belly? It's the same one that Orochimaru used on us in the Forest of Death._

Naruto is confused. _Someone used a seal on us?_

 _Forget it, you stupid kid. The point is, there's a reason he's not moving the way he was before. Either he_ can't _move, or he's planning something. Which means now is the time to put him out of commission!_

 _Okay,_ that _, I get!_

Naruto growls, feeling the fox's rage seeping across his body. His fingernails begin to sharpen, and he feels as if all his senses have become keener. In his imagination, he experiences a thick, red energy begin to spread across his skin. "Let''s finish this, you bastard!"

He moves in a flash.

Naruto might have found an opening, but Sasuke can't say he's had the same luck. It feels to him as if he has been dodging Teisoko's time windows forever, and each time he is a hair slower.

 _She's trying to tire me out._

There's no possible way of getting to her as long as she can see him coming—and with a Sharingan, that means the chance of surprising her is already low. He needs to find a way to obscure her vision in some way, but except for the one kunai, he threw the last of his ninja tools when he saved Naruto—

An idea occurs to him.

 _This is not going to end well_ , he knows, even as his fingers fly to form the requisite signs.

Drawing upon the strength deep within him, he ignites his chakra into flame and then exhales a towering inferno of fire, surrounding himself on all sides. Dropping parallel to the floor, he rolls beneath the ignited air, trying to ignore the way his skin and hair begin to char. As the flames start to recede, he jumps up and vaults his body within a foot of Teisoko's face, kunai aimed at her eyes.

Something lashes around his throat, wrist and ankle, holding him in place.

The electrical cords and tubes that connect to her skin have somehow come alive, breaching the ground in front of him to seize his limbs. Sasuke stares in horror at the lidless red eyes in front of him.

"Poor child," her raw voice takes on a perverted imitation of indulgence, "so eager to be welcomed by death. Do not worry, my little cousin—I will take good care of your eyes once I kill you."

Sasuke gasps for breath, the cord around his neck tightening, and tries to brace himself as best he can for what's about to happen.

A choking gurgle cuts through the tension of the moment, and Teisoko's pupils flit away from Sasuke, her mouth curling into a displeased snarl. Across the way, Naruto has knocked Jikken to the ground and now crouches on the man's chest. Fingers stained with blood, he snarls at her, his eyes like slits.

"Sorry, did I just kill your pet?" he jeers.

"No," the ancient woman replies coldly, "but I will soon kill yours."

The thick cords around Sasuke's tight constrict even more, slowly crushing his larynx and oesophagus together. His free hand claws uselessly at it, trying to get the tiniest bit of give so that he can breath—

" _Don't even try it—shannaro_!"

There's a sound of metal whizzing through the air, and then the restraints holding Sasuke in the air slacken. Several kunai have slashed through them at the bottom, pinning them to the ground. Sasuke falls forward, saved from hitting the ground when familiar arms catch hold of him. There's a flurry of movement, the sensation of being half-carried and half-dragged away, but he's too dizzy with oxygen deprivation to notice much.

When he comes back to himself seconds later, he and Sakura are squatted several feet away from Teisoko, Sakura's arm wrapped around him in support.

"Aren't you supposed to be guarding Kakashi?" he asks dimly.

"Forget that," she tells him, gaze fixed on the potential minefield around Teisoko. "I'm worried right now about what she meant by 'no'."

Sasuke's eyes widen incrementally and he looks over to where Naruto is staring down at Jikken's motionless body, watching in disbelief as it begins to move, jerking and twitching spasmodically. His ruined throat abruptly goes from a taping, torn flesh wound to whole in seconds.

"Sometimes I really hate being right," Sasuke murmurs to himself.

As Jikken continues to twitch, his form flickering and returning to its previous condition, Naruto jumps back a few feet, growling in frustration as he lands in a crouch.

"It's just like you said," Sakura says with tense awe. "He can come back— _she_ will keep bringing him back. It's like they're somehow connected."

"But she hasn't used any seals or hand signs," Naruto protests.

"Maybe she did something, so she doesn't have to? Maybe there's like…a sigil or a seal somewhere on his body, so she doesn't have to concentrate on bringing him back when he dies?" Sakura suggests, thinking rapidly.

"So we destroy the sigil? How do we even find it?"

"Chakra clusters are gathered closest in the abdomen, just below the heart, so aim for that?"

"Don't waste time aiming," Sasuke snaps. "Just rip through his whole chest!"

Naruto's eye twitches, a little of his old self seeping back in place of the Nine Tails' rage. "What the hell, Sasuke! You want me to tear some guy's heart out?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"If you're too squeamish, I'll fucking do it—"

Before he can make good on the boast, the ground beneath him gives way, more cables bursting forth to wrap around him.

"Sasuke!" Sakura cries, yanking him backward and farther out of reach of the twisting, black wires. She may be stationary, but Teisoko is far from neutralised.

"You children are so simple," she sneers. "Turning your back on an opponent in my time would have meant you were slaughtered like cattle."

Sasuke's eyes narrow, likely at the insult, and he takes a step forward. He rolls his shoulder, the one beneath the curse seal, and the bottom drops out of Sakura's stomach.

"Sasuke, don't," she pleads quietly, clutching the back of his shirt. For a wonder, he doesn't immediately shake her off—perhaps because he is still panting, trying to recover himself from the near strangulation.

The ground in front of them is a veritable minefield of black wires and cables, poised to attack her and Sasuke the minute their attention wavers. Across the way, Jikken is on his feet again, laughing as Naruto circles him warily, trying to decide the next plan of attack.

The nearest cable launches forward, and Sakura and Sasuke jump back another few paces. They are almost back to back with Naruto, a triad facing dangers on all sides. Despite the dire circumstances, Sakura feels a thrill.

 _We're all fighting with our back together!_

"If this guy keeps coming back from the dead, we're not going to last very long," Naruto bites out through gritted teeth.

"We're not going to last very long anyway," Sasuke rasps. "We can't even get close to Teisōko!"

"Just tell me where to go, and I'll make a distraction!" Sakura offers.

 _You could always release me,_ the fox within Naruto points out. _This irritating_ thing _would be an easy meal for me at my full power. Awful hard to reanimate with_ all _your vital organs strewn across the floor._

A feeling of bloody, ravenous hunger leeches into Naruto, for a full second he actually entertains the idea. Then he shakes his head.

 _Even if I let you out, and you deal with him, there's still that Uchiha nutjob,_ he replies silently. _If she doesn't know you're here, she can't get you. And I'm not the type of person sacrficie anyone—even people I don't like—just to win a fight!_

The silence in his head feels almost stunned, but Naruto doesn't get a chance to re-examine it further as Jikken, whose throat is now back to its previous condition, darts forward.

"Did I not tell you?" he sneers, wild-eyed and with his teeth bared in a mad grin. "Who else but a goddess could battle against Death and so often turn it back?"

"You waste time, Jikken," Teisoko hisses. "Dispose of the brats already."

"With pleasure!"

He dives forward, reaching for Naruto's throat, but Naruto ducks down, tumbling beneath his legs, whirling around to throw a kunai at him. Jikken bats it away, but as he does that, Naruto lunges with an upper cut, trying to break his nose and drive the bone into his brain. Jikken dodges him with ease, maneuvering him to the ground and bringing his elbow downward in what for anyone _not_ possessed by an ancient chakra beast would likely crush a few of his vertebrae.

As it is, Naruto simply tumbles to one side, rolling to his feet and panting as he once more faces his opponent.

 _I assume you have some kind of plan_ , the fox drawls.

 _I'm thinking!_ Naruto snaps, calling up another wave of shadow clones. It's a strategy that's getting old and predictable, but if he doesn't keep Jikken occupied, the man is going to go after the rest of Naruto's team. At least focussed on him, he's giving them another chance.

Sort of.

"We can't keep dodging like this," Sakura tells Sasuke, voice pitched low. They're trying to get closer to Teisoko, but more cables make themselves known underground. "Sooner or later, she's going to catch one of us in her Sharingan." Sasuke spins in midair, kicking one of the incoming cables out of the way, and lands back in a crouch beside Sakura. "We have to retreat."

"That's _not_ an option!"

"Those wires of hers aren't organic! She's not creating them herself, which means they're only a danger at close range, and she has to have a limit to what she can manipulate here."

"You can't know that for sure."

"Yes, I can—to maintain the integrity of the barrier, I think this is an actual small pocket of time we're in the middle of. We can't see it, but if you look at the curvature of the time field, it probably passes through the ceiling and underground. A solid sphere that stops anything from moving in or out of it."

"So she can't use anything outside of that range," Sasuke realises, catching up to Sakura's analysis.

"Exactly. And she _is_ stuck to a wall."

"But if we go far enough back, we end up in Jikken's attack range. Fighting a battle on two fronts is stupid."

"Only if you do it alone," she counters. "And he's occupied with Naruto. We can take a few seconds to come up with a long-range solution."

Sasuke looks like he wants to argue, but seems to change his mind. "Fine. But stay sharp."

Luckily, or unluckily, Jikken's focus is entirely on Naruto.

 _"Damn it!"_ Naruto snarls as he is flipped painfully onto the ground, the back of his skull cracking against hard rock. He feels like his spine has been dislocated in a few places.

 _So did that blow to your head knock anything loose, or do you just want to keep getting beaten up?_ Naruto's snide demonic passenger asks.

 _You're enjoying this way too much,_ Naruto retorts, staggering to his feet. _What happened to helping?_

 _You keep stopping me. All because you're afraid of what your_ friends _will think. Though, that will be moot in a few minutes, as they'll be dead…_

Naruto clenches his teeth, eyes flitting towards Sakura and Sasuke.

Teisōko nearly manages to snake a live wire around Sakura's arm as they retreat, but Sasuke grabs it just in time, channelling a barrier of electricity into his palm and using that to shove it away. Teisōko hisses in displeasure and renews her onslaught, the near-sentient cables driving the two of them farther and farther away. Her efforts nearly bring them into the direct path of Naruto's fight with Jikken.

"I still don't get _how_ she's controlling all of this?" Sasuke wheezes as Sakura skids to one side and he dives to the other. He barely manages to roll to his feet in time to avoid another grasping cable.

"The wires are connected to her—the whole _place_ is connected to her," Sakura cries as they are forced to dodge again. "Have you ever heard of a Sharingan controlling people like puppets?" In an effort to keep them safe, Sakura puts her back against Sasuke's, trying to be ready if the crazed man decides to choose a different target.

"If the genjutsu is strong enough, it's possible—but that's not what this is, or I'd be able to tell."

Sakura considers. "What if…what if she is like the CPU of a computer?"

"What?"

"The brain! Maybe it's a combination of chakra and whatever technological enhancements she's got attached to her— _ouch!"_

Behind them, Jikken has feinted to the left, kicking Naruto viciously out of his way, and flung a handful of shuriken at Sakura and Sasuke. One of them nicks her cheek, and another slices her leg.

"Sakura?" Sasuke demands.

"I'm fine!" she squeaks at the same time that Naruto recovers himself and jumps Jikken from behind, grabbing him around his throat and trying to throttle him. "You?"

"The cables don't reach this far," he confirms.

"I mean the shuriken…"

" _What_ shuriken?"

Naruto goes flying over Jikken's shoulder, disappearing in a puff of smoke—of course it's a clone—and the pale man once again reaches for Sakura. Sensing her tense behind him, Sasuke orders, "Switch!" and maneuvers himself to take her place, meeting Jikken's incoming attack with a quick blast of flame.

"Hey, watch it!" the real Naruto complains, side-stepping the flame before headbutting Jikken in the spine.

"You watch it! You're not paying attention!"

Naruto growls at him, but returns his focus to his own fight.

 _He's right. You haven't even noticed yet,_ the fox says.

"Noticed what?"

 _The man is still as slow as he was before. He hasn't teleported once._

"That means—" Naruto says, realising that his demonic passenger is right and shouts out loud, "—he's still grounded!"

He has to duck when Jikken takes advantage of his distraction to aim a chop to his throat.

 _Good job,_ the fox growls, _yell whenever you figure out something about your opponent. How the hell were you allowed to become a shinobi?_

"But why is he grounded?"

It's Sakura who replies. "Teisoko's the one who resurrects him, right? What if it's a limited technique?"

Sasuke catches on. "Resetting his condition doesn't bring him back to perfect condition."

"Something must have happened before we got here to keep him from teleporting, and now…now when he reverts, he doesn't go back to the way he first was."

"A time limit on her abilities," Sasuke concludes, eyes gleaming with something like hope for the first time.

Not wanting to be left out of the group, Naruto demands, "So what you're saying is, we've got to bloody him up enough so that even when she brings him back, he won't be a threat?" He sacrifices a clone in order to jump over him and shove his elbow down hard on Jikken's shoulder. "Basically, I just keep hitting him, right?"

"And look for some sigil on him!" Sakura tells him. "Something that connects him to Teisoko. We'll look for one on her."

"Unless we drop dead from exhaustion beforehand," Sakura complains.

The slithering wires can't reach them, but Teisōko is using her ability to open time-windows again. On the one hand, they aren't easily sustained—a few seconds at most before closing—but they appear out of nowhere and with no warning. It's only because of Sasuke's reflexes that they haven't fallen in yet.

It seems like forever before –

"Kakashi!" Sakura suddenly cries.

Sasuke jerks his head to the side and sees that while he and Sakura are out of range, Teisōko has apparently found a new target: their unconscious teacher. Making a snap judgement, he puts on a burst of speed, just managing to reach Kakashi in time to yank him out of danger.

"Now would be a great time for you to wake up," Sasuke mutters, ensuring the man is still breathing and as safe as he can possibly be from the combination of time portals and grasping cables.

 _She's got a limited range for the cables, but how do the time portals work?_

Outside of the cave they were opening up all over, at random intervals and with varying sizes. Almost like afterthoughts – but it seems to take her more concentration to open on purpose – and in places that she intends it to happen.

 _She probably has to control those, because if she doesn't, she'll get sucked in too. She only started using them when we got too close – so she probably won't use them again unless we get closer. Sakura was right, we just have to keep out of range of her and –_

As she skirts Teisōko's attack range, another window opens up and Sakura dodges to one side – only to step wrong and haver her ankle twist. She staggers, just managing to keep herself upright, but before she can stop herself, she reflexively looks up.

All she can see is the blood red colour and her limbs begin to clench. Teisōko's pupils widen, three points bleeding outside the rim and spinning in a deadly circle.

"Sakura!" Sasuke snaps in warning, but it's as if his voice is coming from far away.

In the last second before her brain can be ensnared in the woman's genjutsu, she feels bone-deep pain in her thigh. It's enough to make her jolt, bringing enough of her resolve back to move – she barely notices the shuriken now jammed into her leg – because at that moment, the space she just occupied suddenly explodes.

The ripple sends her tumbling to the ground, ears ringing and head aching, as if she's just experienced a flash-bomb.

"Wh-what was that?" she murmurs, dizzy.

"It's her Mangekyō Sharingan," Sasuke says through gritted teeth, appearing beside her and dragging her to her feet. They skirt towards the chakra wall, within the narrow range between where Teisoko can reach them and where Naruto's altercation with Jikken is still going strong. "Somehow, she can make things explode."

" _Katon_?"

"No, this is different," Sasuke says, not dwelling on how useful that ability would be right now. "This wasn't remotely related to _Katon_ or any fire jutsu I've ever seen. It's a Sharingan ability."

"Maybe she's not just able to slow down and freeze time," Sakura suggests. "Maybe she can speed it up as well. In theory, if you move molecules fast enough, they blow up."

"Which means getting closer to her just went from challenging to fucking impossible," Sasuke concludes.

There is a crackle of sound, and the air around Sasuke seems to boil, getting hotter far faster than air should be able to heat.

Before she is even aware of it, Sakura is moving, tackling Sasuke to the ground, at the exact instant that a percussive blast shatters the air. A searing arc of pain spreads across her entire right side, and she screams, losing her balance as the two of them skid and roll across the floor.

"Sakura!" Naruto yells, earning a bloody slash across his back for his trouble.

Where they landed, Sakura stares up at Sasuke, who has rolled himself on top of her; his attention is fixed on what feels like a bloody chasm in her shoulder.

"What the hell did you do?" he shouts at her, eyes snapping to her with something like horror.

"S-saved your l-life," she stammers, her body trembling from the pain. For some reason, it's important that he knows that, but she doesn't know why. She's pretty sure shock is going to set in soon. Unlike Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura isn't used to just shrugging off major wounds. And, also unlike her teammate or her future self, she doesn't possess any healing abilities.

Sasuke is quietly panicking, pressing his hands desperately against Sakura's bleeding wound, all the while glancing around for help – or to see if Teisōko is gearing up for another attack. Mitsuki's talking appears to be keeping her attention from them for the time being, and Naruto remains occupied with Jikken.

There's no one to help him.

The world seems to narrow, sense disappearing around him until the only sound he can make out is the desperate churn of his thoughts.

 _"Never again…"_

With no healers in sight, there's no way to stop the blood and neither he nor Sakura have supplies left. He has to save her, but he has to stop Teisōko, but he has to help Naruto and there is no right choice here!

 _"I've already lost everything once before."_

His shoulder begins to burn, the mark threatening to break through, but he knows if he allows it, he won't be able to help Sakura or Naruto. He'll go straight for the ancient Uchiha, which is the logical thing to do, and the only thing that can stop all of this. And yet –

 _"I don't want to watch those precious to me die before my eyes again."_

None of that will mean anything if Sakura is dead at the end of it.

"Do you trust me?" he asks Sakura.

She stares up at him, eyes blurred with pained tears, and without hesitations says, "Of course."

Something in his heart stutters at the absolute certainty there, and the weight of that one word feels far older and stronger and much more terrifying than it should.

"Don't move," he tells her. "No matter what, because this is going to hurt."

Sakura's face fills with worry, but she nods resolutely.

Sasuke adjusts his position, trapping her arms to her body with his thighs to prevent her from moving, and then shifts one side. Quickly, he makes the hand signs, adjusts the force of his chakra, reducing the area of its reach but willing the flames to be hotter, before expelling a small, controlled stream of fire.

The heat and flame spread themselves across the span of Sakura's wound, and she shrieks in pain – but miraculously, doesn't even try to flail.

"What the hell, Sasuke?!" Naruto, or one of his clones, yells.

"Shut up!" Sasuke snarls back as the fire dissipates and he examines his work. The round is rough and glistening with blisters, but the cauterization has stopped any exsanguination. "Did you want her to bleed out?!"

He whips his head back to Sakura.

"Are you okay?" he barks.

Sakura nods shakily. "Y-yes."

"She could have killed you!" Sasuke growls.

"She could have k-killed _you_ ," Sakura counters stubbornly.

"She could have killed you _both!"_ Naruto howls at them. "Stop almost dying!"

He dives after Jikken, a Rasengan forming in his hand. He shoves it into the back of the man with such force that it exits through the front of his body.

Jikken drops to the ground.

"Yes!" he yells. Teisoko's eyes burn and Jikken's form begins to heal again. "Aw, man, this is getting old really fast…"

Naruto jumps back a few feet until he is standing beside his teammates once more. "Are you guys alright? Sakura?"

"I'll be fine," she assures him.

"Go stay with Kakashi," Sasuke orders her.

"No."

"Sakura, you're wounded—"

"Who isn't right now?" she shoots back. "I don't want to be watching you and Naruto from behind again!"

"You're not," he tells her, impatient. "You're preserving your strength. If we can't take these guys down, you're our last hope."

"You mean, if you die trying to take her down," Sakura replies, eyes narrowing and mouth turning down mutinously.

Sasuke doesn't answer, instead turning to leave her behind.

Only to find himself suddenly yanked back, two fists clutching the front of his shirt, and furious green eyes glowering at him. All traces of earlier tears are gone, and what he sees now is utter rage, an emotion that has never been directed at him by her before.

The back of his neck feels very warm for some reason.

"That's it?!" she snaps. "You're just going to go off and die and leave me with all the responsibilities, aren't you?! Just like usual, you selfish jerk! Well, I can be selfish too! _Shannaro!"_

And then her lips against his.

He doesn't even have time to register the punishing press of them before she pulls back, blushing and glaring and says, "I love you. So don't you dare die!"

When she releases him, Sasuke staggers a bit to the left, shock temporarily leaving him unbalanced.

Of everything to happen to him today…he still didn't expect that.

Sakura, face the same colour as her tunic, hurries over to Kakashi's lifeless form.

"Did really she just…?" Naruto begins as Sasuke steps toward him.

"I'm not talking about it," Sasuke cuts him off, voice oddly tight.

"Okay then…"

They survey the twitching curse-marked man in the distance, his mistress radiating absolutely fury as she wills him back to life.

"Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"We need to switch off." He stows his usual competitive nature, trying to think analytically. "It's like I said before. I need to take Jikken. I'm faster than you and can keep up—"

"No—"

"Don't be stubborn about it. You've got a much better chance of surprising Teisōko than I do, especially with your shadow clones. She'll have more trouble tracking you than me."

Naruto clenches his fists.

"In case you're too thick to figure it out, I'm saying you're strong enough, alright?" Sasuke continues, sounding impatient. "Now let's do this."

"I can't," Naruto mutters quietly.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I can't!" Naruto snaps, and then in a voice pitched only for Sasuke to hear. "She has an evolved Sharingan."

"So? Just avoid her gaze. It's not completely impossible."

"I can't take the chance—"

"Why the hell not?!"

"Because I've got the Nine-Tailed Fox in me!" Naruto hisses, eyes flitting nervously around in case Sakura might hear him. "And it told me it can be controlled by a Sharingan like _that_. And I really don't want to turn into an animal that rips apart all my friends, okay? I can't risk her gaining control of the demon."

Beside him, Sasuke goes suddenly and terribly quiet.

 _Damn it,_ Naruto thinks. Because he's held back from saying anything for so long, all because he's feared the reaction and now, at the worse opportunity, he's said it out loud.

 _You pathetic idiot,_ the fox growls at him.

"Well, say something," Naruto snaps, voice taut with anxiety. But Sasuke is silent, shoulders hunching forward, and his hair falling in a curtain over his eyes. "Sasuke?"

The other boy's shoulders begin to shake.

 _Don't tell me he's_ afraid – !

"Damn it, Sasuke! Say something!"

An unfamiliar, utterly startling sound fills the cavern. It starts low and quiet, before getting steadily louder.

Naruto's eyes widen, because the sound is familiar in a general sense, but not something he has ever witnessed before –

"Are you…are you fucking _laughing_ right now?!"

And low and behold, Sasuke straightens up, his eyes glittering with _mirth_ of all things.

"Of course you are," Sasuke continues to snigger, in that utterly unsettling way of his. "Because why not?"

"Now is so not the time for you to discover a sense of humour, asshole! Or have a psychotic break, which is what this looks like…"

"Don't you get it?" Sasuke counters, still grinning maniacally. "The absolutely, unbelievable ridiculousness of today? The total and complete improbability, and in all that—what you just said makes the most sense out of all of it?"

Naruto blinks. "I don't follow…"

"Well, you wouldn't, would you?" Sasuke retorts, sounding triumphant. "Never mind, dead-last."

He turns once more to face Jikken's slowly recovering form. Beyond it, and the wall of chakra, he sees his future self, and for the first time all day, the reality of who he will be _hits_ him. Realisation and an odd sense of calm overtake his slightly hysterical mood, tempering even the stabbing prods from his curse mark.

Because he feels an utter certainty, a strange fulfilment that shouldn't make sense but does. In this moment, Sasuke—past and present—has achieved everything he has wanted. He has figured out why Naruto is so weird and keeps getting stronger so fast—it's not Sasuke's own personal failing, but a quirk of fate particular to the other boy.

Sasuke has confirmed that he is destined to get the revenge that he yearns for, and that he will restore his clan. His eyes return to his future self, still frozen in chakra, and he smirks, because he it appears going to be fighting beside the idiot that has become his best friend twenty years from now.

And the girl that he is going to marry—the only person he has ever entertained a slight possibility of caring about—kissed him.

"If we lose this fight, nothing matters—but if we win, that's _everything_. So all I have to say to you, Naruto—" The sound of birds scream to the forefront, echoing within the chamber as he wills a chidori into his hand, "—is don't slow me down, loser."

And once again he takes a run at Jikken.

Naruto gapes at his back and then shouts gleefully, "You bastard! I'm going to kick your ass for that when we're done!"

つづく

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 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	32. Chapter Twenty-Eight

**Author's Note: GO BACK! REREAD THIS STORY FROM THE BEGINNING! FORMATTING HAS BEEN CHANGED, SCENES HAVE BEEN ADDED OR MOVED AROUND, MINOR PLOT ISSUES HAVE BEEN FIXED! Otherwise this chapter will be a bit weird for you to read because it goes in a completely different direction than it was going to before :P**

 **Also, to the jerkwads that didn't think I could do it: up your Ziggy with a wawa brush!**

* * *

Sarada and her teammates watch in horror as the past members of Team 7 split up, each taking on a different insurmountable task. Sasuke nudges Naruto to get behind him, eyes on Jikken and Sakura drags Kakashi as far out of the range as fighting as possible.

"Don't go near the barrier!" Sarada warns when her mother almost staggers into it. "If you go through it, time will stop for you the same as for my dad and Uncle Naruto!"

Sakura offers a sharp not to show that she has heard but doesn't pause in moving Kakashi.

"We have to get in there," Boruto declares, taking a step back and focussing his gaze on the forcefield of time, instead of on the melee occurring within.

Sarada swallows nervously, eyes flitting from the immobile, adult versions of her parents, to the ones fighting for their lives beyond them. "There's no way. It goes all the way around, maybe even underground if it's an actual pocket."

"There's got to be a way to disrupt it! I mean, at the end of the day, it's just chakra! Some old lady's creepy, time-stopping chakra, but still _chakra_!"

"No barrier is completely uniform," Mistuki suggests. "If we can find a point in the forcefield that is thinnest, perhaps overloading raw chakra through that would short out the rest of the barrier."

"Maybe…" Sarada says with a frown, but she doesn't think that would be very safe for the people within it. Something nags at her, something obvious that she ought to be thinking of. "Ugh, we _have_ to get in there…"

"Or at least get Dad and Uncle Sasuke out of the barrier," Boruto agrees. "If anyone's going to stop these creeps, it's them."

Mitsuki takes a few steps backward and lobs several kunai through the churning gold wall, aiming toward Teisoko. Almost the moment the weapons cross through, they freeze in the air.

"It's not good," he sighs, "even inanimate objects are affected. Boruto, can you see if there are any chakra gathering points we might attack?"

"It's not exactly something I can perform on demand," Boruto hisses, glancing nervously at Sarada.

She ignores them. They don't have time to waste on things that can't help right now, especially not since that switch Jikken flipped is still in a downward position, sending untold amounts of time ripples out. It doesn't look like the past Team 7 is anywhere close to turning it off—

 _Wait_.

"It's a machine," she says, turning to Boruto and Mitsuki with excitement.

Boruto gives her an unimpressed look. "Yeah, we _know_ that already."

"No, it's a _machine_! Machines need power sources!" she reminds them breathlessly. "And the one for this one must be huge—not something that could be in the room with Teisoko, or we'd see it right now!"

"It _is_ big enough to generate a phenomenon reaching for days from its origin," Mitsuki muses.

"And it would be stupid to put everything in the one room, anyway," Boruto concludes, catching on. He pumps his fist. "Alright! Let's get out of here, find the power source and destroy it! That'll stop all this time stuff, right?"

"Unless it's self-sustaining," Sarada murmurs, but more to herself than the others. It's best not to dwell on more potential problems than she already has.

Within the bubble, Sakura is doing her best to make Kakashi comfortable and keep him out of the eyes of the two opponents within. Sasuke and Naruto have a sharp exchange of words, and then Sasuke blinks, and smirks. "Whatever, loser. Try not to die.

He uses a _Shushin_ to vanish across the room.

" _None of you_ better die!" Sarada orders, not even sure anyone hears her. She backs way from the yellow wall of chakra. "We've got a plan, so hang in there as long as possible!"

She follows Boruto and Mitsuki out of the room before she can hear a response.

The three of them dark out of the grotto and back onto the rickety stairwell from earlier. As they run, Sarada's eyes flick around, trying to notice if there are any other crevice or openings she didn't notice before. They were so intent on reaching Lord Seventh and Papa that they didn't stop to see what else lay hidden in the caverns of the giant dome.

"If it's powering her time-paradox machine, then the source would be directly underneath. Maybe there's an electrical tunnel cutting upward through the rock," she suggests. "Look on the levels directly below the—"

The landing of the stairwell shakes, forcing the three genin to grab hold of the railings. Several feet away, three hulking, bat-like figures flock out the little light from the bare bulbs nearby.

"Oh, man, not these guys again," Boruto complains. "This day just keeps getting better and better."

"Any bright ideas?" Sarada prompts.

"It's your turn."

" _How the hell is it my turn?!"_

"Mitsuki already saved us with his snakes, and I nearly fried my arm with a Rasenshuriken—it's your turn!"

"Great," Sarada mutters as the three of them slowly back up. There's nowhere they can duck in to hide nearby, and if they start running off, the creatures will just follow them. Somehow, they have go on the offensive.

Down below, they hear the sounds of Mama and Aunt Hinata dealing with the still numerous hordes of monsters. Somewhere, Konohamaru is still struggling and fighting, too.

"Let's try to knock them out and send them down there," Sarada suggests. "Either the impact gets them, or our moms do."

"Temporary solution," Mitsuki reminds her. "There will be more coming."

"It's better than nothing!"

"I'll take it!" Boruto declares, bending forward and preparing to lunge. "Everyone ready?"

"No!"

"Remember, if all else fails—sigils in the hearts! _Yosh!"_

The three of them surge forward as one, the rusted metal beneath their feet clanging in protest.

The curse mark creatures roar in anticipation, bracing themselves for a direct onslaught. At the last second, the genin pull back on their speed, and Boruto calls up three clones to attack in their place, dropping at the last second to skid through the gaps in their legs. While the beasts are occupied, he begins to mould the air into a Rasengan.

One of the beasts ignores his clones, however, ducking forward and reaching out a gnarled hand for Sarada, who wastes no time in flipping it over her shoulder, trying to send it careening into the wall directly beside them. The move falls short, however, the monster recovering itself inches before the wall, spinning round to swipe at Mitsuki.

Stretching his arm out, Mitsuki reaches for the cave ceiling, using a stalactite to pull himself out of the path of jagged claws. He opponent tries to follow, gnashing and snapping at his feet.

The second beast has also lost interest in Boruto's clones and vaults towards Sarada, who narrowly avoids it by running up the cavern walls, willing her chakra to keep her from falling down. She feels the rancid breath on her neck and the swish of sharp claws trying to catch hold of her, and if she doesn't speed up it's going to get her—

Mitsuki, still holding onto the stalactite swings around, knocking his knee into her pursuer and twisting his body to send it crashing back downward, knocking into the first creature. Meanwhile, Boruto yells in effort, shoving his Rasengan into the back of the third creature with such force that it rips completely through the body—but he doesn't get a chance to react in disgust; as soon as the beast's torso drops, it begins to drag itself toward him, unyielding fingers clawing their way up his leg.

"Augh! Get it off! Get it off!" Boruto yells, trying to shake himself free; paces away, the beast's lower half begins to flicker and twitch, fading away like smoke and then attaching itself back to the rest of it.

Mitsuki drops down beside the two brawlers, and with his fist radiating crackling yellow electricity, unceremoniously shoves his fist entirely through the creature's chest.

Blood sprays Boruto's face and he turns greenish as the heart in Mitsuki's hand melts to nothingness in his fist. "You couldn't have pulled it off me first?!"

"We didn't have time for that."

"You could have gotten me accidentally!"

"I knew you'd move at the last second."

"No you didn't!"

"Would you two gossiping like old women!" Sarada yells—she is upside down on the cavern ceiling, wires trailing from her fingers and wrapped around the other two creatures that she has trussed together. "Take them out already!"

Mitsuki pulls himself free of the beast's body, dropping it to the ground and advances on the other two curse mark creatures, lashing out with his arm and shoving it through both their chests without hesitation.

"So much for sending them down to your parents," he remarks mildly.

"Should we be asking why that doesn't seem to bother you?" Boruto asks, trying to wipe the blood off of his face.

"No," Mitsuki answers as he liquefies the hearts within his grasp.

Sarada drops to the floor, landing in a crouch.

"That was too easy," she says with a frown.

"You think that was _easy?!_ "

"She's right," Mitsuki agrees. "These creatures gave your parents trouble, and we just took out three with barely any effort. It's as if it's—"

He is cut off by a snarl, and suddenly Boruto is seized from behind and lobbed face first into the cave wall opposite. He goes down hard on the metal stair and doesn't move.

"Boruto!" Sarada yells, her eyes moving from her downed comrade to his attacker – the same creature that Mitsuki supposedly just saved him from.

 _I don't…how is that possible…?_

"But you destroyed the heart," she whispers, taking a step back. "The sigil should be gone…"

"Unless not all her servants were branded on their hearts," Mitsuki theorizes.

Sarada chokes.

She shouldn't be surprised. Jikken, or at least Teisōko, has a kind of mercenary logic, and the best way to create effective pawns is to ensure that any weakness they have is hidden.

"That means the sigil could be anywhere in its body."

Sarada's gaze flits to Boruto's still form, and then back to the approaching creature. Her eyes narrow. "Then we destroy _the whole body_." Taking a page from her father's book, her fingers fly into the hand signs for a _Katon_. "Stay out of the way!"

Mitsuki doesn't need to be told twice, scattering away from her direct line of attack. Channelling as large a burst of chakra as she can muster, she expels an explosive twist of flame, willing it to completely encompass the approaching figure.

She doesn't stop until her chest constricts from lack of oxygen and she becomes dizzy, but by that point the creature has been reduced to a charred, shapeless crisp.

 _It's not as strong as Papa's Amaterasu, but that_ thing _not coming back from that!_

"Too bad there's no way you can do that for all of them," Mitsuki says. "Boruto won't be the only one passed out if you do that."

"There has to be something else— _augh!_ "

One of the beasts they thought they dealt with seizes her from behind and ploughs her into the wall opposite Boruto; the other knocks Mitsuki's feet out from beneath him. Once on the ground, Mitsuki tries to crawl away, but the beast clutches his ankles, dragging him back toward him.

Sarada tries to help him, but her opponent has seized her by the arm and the hip and shoves her into the nearest wall.

"No!" she snarls in pain as her head cracks against the rock, but there's no chance to recover as she then finds herself hurtling up towards the ceiling, then back down again. The curse-mark beast is waiting, wicked talons raised to catch her on them, and Sarada forces herself to twist in midair. She only just manages to avoid a fatal wound, although the claws slice through the fleshy part of her back.

Hitting the ground, she tucks and rolls, trying to regain her footing, but her opponent is reaching for her again, clenching fingers into her shoulders and snapping at her with its jaws. Sarada tries to keep her opponent at bay, jamming the heel of her hand into its throat, or twisting to land a punch to its sensitive looking eyes, but she can't gain the power she needs to do it.

 _Brute strength won't work here, I need to try something else!_

She straightens her free hand, willing her energy into sharpness until a chakra scalpel surrounds her fingertips. Without allowing herself to hesitate, she whips her hand forward, slicing through the tender skin of the creature's neck.

Blood sprays her, soaking her all down her front. The beast slackens, loosening its grip on her, just enough for her to get away.

 _Do something, quick! It's going to reset if I don't—_

There's a sudden wet _thunk_ sound, metal boring into bone, and the beast she was fighting seizes and goes still, a kunai in the back of its neck. As it crumples to the ground, Sarada sees that her opponent wasn't the only victim—the creature trying to maul Mitsuki has frozen and collapsed upon him, two shuriken sticking out of the base of its spine.

Sarada and Mitsuki glance over to where the weapons came from and see that Boruto has hauled himself to his feet. He is panting, shoulders shaking, still poised to throw his remaining kunai should they move again. There is an expression of pure fury on his otherwise open features.

"Boruto! How did you…"

"I'll tell you later," he says shortly, turning the right side of his face from her and looking around. "Are there anymore on their way?"

Sarada's looks around the shadowy darkness. "None in the immediate area."

"Then let's go!"

They tramp down the rickety scaffolding, taking turns checking the crevices and doors for passageways. They have to be on the lookout in case any of the creatures are still lurking within, but there is a little luck on their side. Most of the creatures have already been drawn to the adults down below who present a bigger threat.

At last, Sarada spots a giant door, several storeys beneath Teisoko's grotto, fused to the surrounding stone with makeshift hinges. She dashes ahead of her teammates, arm at the ready. Her punch caves the door in, twisting the metal until it folds in half and whips to one side. Mitsuki and Boruto file into the room before her.

Inside, they see a giant computer tower, with thick black tubes and lines leading straight up through the ceiling. A metal cage surrounds it from floor to ceiling, the spaces in between 0the bars too small to reach through with fingers or shuriken.

"I bet that's what we're looking for," Sarada says, pointing at the tubes. "We take those out, the machine stops working!"

"Forget the wires, let's take out the whole computer!" Boruto growls, a Rasengan spinning in his palm. "One _Kieru Rasengan_ coming up—!"

He winds up like a pitcher and sends it flying. The swirling ball of energy disappears almost immediately, and they all wait for the telltale explosion to signify it reappeared in the cage.

But nothing happens.

"What the…?" Boruto wonders, just as the door behind them is darkened by a hulking bat hybrid.

Mitsuki moves immediately, snakes exploding from his arms and seizing the creature, before lobbing it over his head toward the central power unit.

Before the creature has gone more than a few feet, it shrieks and suddenly explodes into a pink mist, forcing them all to duck.

"What the hell, Mitsuki!"

"That…wasn't me."

"It wasn't," Sarada says, her eyes flashing red as she surveys the room with new interest. She presses her hand to the floor, infusing it with her chakra and whispers, " _Kai!"_

The genjutsu the hid it disappears, and a giant circular sealing circle materialises in front of them, centred on the power unit. An identical ward has been etched into the ceiling. Sarada recognises most of the characters used.

"It charges the air around it. Anything that passes through it gets incinerated. Or destroyed. That's why your Rasengan didn't go through."

"Jeez, these people like their circles of doom," Boruto grumbles. "Now what?"

"Now you two guard the door while I try to figure this out," Sarada says. "Unless you want to take that job? You're the one who loves games."

"Right, because this is _just_ like a game. I'm having _so_ much fun right now, aren't you, Mitsuki?"

"Yes, actually."

"Right…should have known you'd say something like that…"

Sarada lets their voices wash over her, narrowing her eyes in concentration as she puzzles out the various ways they might destroy the ward to get to the power source. Shadow clones will burn up, lightning techniques would have to be strong enough to turn the entire room into a beacon, and that could run the risk not only of electrocuting them, but passing up into the grotto where Teisoko is facing her parents, electrocuting them as well. For all she knows, everything in the time bubble might suffer from that.

 _If not for the barrier, I could use shurikenjutsu to hit all the vortices in the circle to short it out. But those would disintegrate before they reached the furthest ones. We can't take out the wards from the front…_

She considers the earthen stone walls surrounding them. None of them known Doton, but if they could, in theory, they might call up an earthquake to destroy the area, but Doton isn't so precise…

"Hey, Sarada…" Boruto speaks up, frowning up at the seals on the ceiling. The right side of his face is away from her, but she is sure he is frowning in thought. "The seals are _inside_ the ward, right? Not outside?"

"Right." _Whoever came up with this had an obsessive sense of detail...or paranoia._

"So what if something takes out from _inside? A_ ll the points of the warding circle have equivalent chakra force, so it would have to be simultaneous."

"Yeah, I know, but I can't think of anything that could do that without…" Sarada trails off, and her mind casts back to earlier today—or yesterday?—and she remembers having a similar conversation with Sakura.

" _If we take out the walls where the most support is—"_

" _We take the whole place down."_

" _If we set off some controlled explosions, we can cause this whole place to collapse."_

" _That could collapse more than just this cavern though!"_

" _It's a risk we have to take!"_

"If the stone the seals are painted on crumble _beneath_ it, it the entire circle will be compromised."

"You just have to find the right spot," Mitsuki says, catching on, "then apply the correct amount of force."

"Both of you, back up, now!" she commands, scanning the walls on either side of the circular cavern. She will only get the one shot: too much force, and the room will get caved in and the power source will be trapped beneath the stone; not enough force, and the stone beneath the seals won't break. "If anything goes wrong, I don't want you trapped in here!"

They both scatter, jumping out of the room, and Sarada braces herself on one side of the room, facing the wall she intends to take out. Counting out paces, she does the best calculation she can for the proper force. One solid hit should cause a ripple effect to the floor and ceiling, weakening the foundations beneath.

She takes a run at the wall

" _SHANNARO!"_

ナルト

Naruto and Sasuke stand side-by-side for another moment, taking in their opponents, and then simultaneously take a run forward, headed for Jikken. Naruto throws himself at the man, tackling him around the middle, and as he bends forward, Sasuke jump upward, stepping down hard on the back of his head, using the man to gain more momentum.

As he flies through the air toward Teisoko, Jikken tries to pull away from Naruto, to grab hold of him, but Naruto summons another clone to weigh him down.

 _Okay. Sasuke and I are in this together now, but how the hell are we going to take this guy out for good? We stab him, think we kill him, and he comes back._

 _Something has to be linking him to the woman,_ the fox suggests in a rare feat of helpfulness. _She must be using something to target her abilities and tie them to one person. Or even many._

Naruto's eyes fly to the puzzling machines on either side of the woman. "Sasuke!"

The other boy's eyes flick to Naruto, then follow his line of sight.

"Right!" he says, just as Jikken renews his struggle against the blond boy and Teisoko's wires and cables stretch out toward Sasuke.

He jumps over them, tucking his knees to his chest as he leaps through the air, touches down on the live curve of one of them, and focusses his chakra to the balls of his feet and hands. He needs to keep ahead of them while he lays his trap.

He doesn't call up a full Chidori, but his fingers crackle with electricity that draws Teisoko's eyes, just before he shorts one of them out. One of the giant cables catches him in the chest, throwing him backward, and he almost hits the golden time energy. At the last second, he uses _Shunshin_ to bring him out of harms way.

He touches down in a crouch, his mouth tugging in a confident smirk.

With Naruto and Sasuke renewing their assault on Teisoko, Sakura finds herself momentarily at a loss. Her brain is having trouble catching up with what she just did, giddy and terrified at the same time, adrenaline from fear and elation sending her buzzing.

 _I hope it worked,_ she decides as her eyes fall on Kakashi. _And now I need to do what I can for him._

Sakura crawls over to check on him. His breathing is so shallow now it might as well be non-existent. She worries that even if he continues breathing, he might not necessarily wake up. He, more than any of them, has pushed his limit today, and there's no telling what effect prolonged use of a Mangekyō Sharingan can have on the human brain.

 _He needs healing_ , she decides, and places her hands over his chest. She could barely heal Sarada's thumb before, but if she can't do anything else right now, she should at least be able to offer him _something_.

She hesitates, uncertain, and glances up through the yellow haze. She knows Sarada is no longer there, but her eyes fall on Sasuke's future self.

"Right," the pink-haired girl says, and sets to her task with determination.

Another line of Naruto's shadow clones forms between him and the pale man, charging him without hesitation. Jikken continues to move through the barrage with ease, knocking them out of existence with deft blows. Once he has run the gauntlet, he manages to reach Naruto, aiming a merciless punch to his gut, before kicking him toward the wall of chakra beyond him.

Sasuke appears just in time, knocking Naruto off the collision course, and they both land together. There's a look they share—acknowledgement, respect, synchronicity—and then they both nod.

Mottled black patterns erupt from Sasuke's neck, spreading across his shoulders and up the side of his face, and his Sharingan blazes with renewed power. Beside him, Naruto's body begins to glow with a shade of red energy that bubbles and seethes, and he suddenly drops to all fours. Behind him, a tail-shaped appendages whips back and forth.

And then they are both gone again, vanished within a blink, reappearing in front of their respective opponents. Naruto unleashes a barrage of attacks on Jikken that rival Sasuke's for speed, rapid punches and kicks, all aimed at the most vulnerable parts of the body. Jikken puts up a fight—he knocks his knee to Naruto's nose, causing a spray of blood to coat both of them, but the wound heals almost immediately and Naruto crouches down to headbut Jikken, sending him skidding and tumbling across the space. There are clone waiting for them, and they pick him up and toss him through the air, headed for another group of clones.

Meanwhile, Teisoko is no longer simply using her cables, opening time windows and detonating the air whenever Sasuke lands somewhere for a second. He barely takes time to rest, doesn't even really need it, the way the power ripples through him.

With a bare hand, he rips apart one of the giant cables that begins to snake around him, grinning at the _ease_ of it.

Sakura watches them both in horror, not entirely sure what she's seeing, but knowing that she is nowhere near the level needed to help them right now. She does notice there's a pattern their movement, though; as if they are trying to get toward the computers.

 _Maybe if the computers get destroyed, the time-bubble will stop?_

They don't look as if they'll be getting there any time soon, but perhaps she can…

Her eyes widen as she notices movement, just in the shadow of one of the computer consoles. She wouldn't even have noticed except she's in the exact right angle where she huddles beside Kakashi.

Utterly unnoticed in the pandemonium, a pale-skinned, dark-haired child stares around him with an expression of utter terror. He cannot be more than three or four years old.

It worked after all.

Teisoko's portal hadn't just brought her and her team, through but it also brought—

 _Orochimaru_ , Sakura realizes, feeling breathless in dismay and disbelief. _Granted, a weaker and completely unthreatening version of the old snake, but it's definitely him._

For a wonder, Teisoko and Jikken haven't seen him, but she puts that down to one of them being stuck to a wall and the other being assaulted by a bevvy of shadow clones. Still, it's just a matter of time.

She swallows, knowing with a quiet horror, that if something happens to that little boy, everything is over. And with everyone else busy or unable to get to him, she's the only one who can save him.

She is equally aware that this is very likely going to get her killed, and if that happens…is it even worth it to try?

 _Don't be an idiot. You're going to die anyway. The only question is, how? Saving myself? Or Kakashi? Or a kid that's going to grow up to ruin the lives of the people I love?_

It should be a simple choice, based just on facts, but looking at the tiny boy's pale-yellow eyes brimming with terrified tears, Sakura finds she can't be quite so cold.

Sakura begins to inch, very slowly, along the edge of the circle they are all trapped in. Naruto and Sasuke are doing well enough to keep Teisoko and Jikken occupied, and all she has to do is focus on _not_ falling through the barrier of frozen time.

She jumps when Sasuke is thrown in her direction, skin scraping against the stone as he skids. He barely feels it as he gets back to his feet, and Sakura is _so_ tempted to stop him, to keep him from giving in to the curse mark that fuels him now, but she knows she can't risk it. She watches him throw himself back into the fray, rolling underneath time windows and holding up Teisoko's own cables for her to detonate with her special ability.

At last she manages to wrap several of them around Sasuke, constricting him in place while he struggles. Her eyes fly to Jikken, who stumbles as though punch-drunk. Naruto's clones vanish from the smoke and the jinchūriki charges out, his arm raised to deliver a knock-out blow to Jikken.

"You have served me well, Jikken," Teisoko says coolly. "Continue to do so."

Surprise crosses his face at the same moment that the space occupied by him and Naruto suddenly explodes. The explosion is such that it disintegrates a chunk of the ground beneath them.

Blood and debris flies in every direction, and Sakura barely ducks in time, her eyes rivetted in horror at the spot where her teammate just was. His name is frozen behind a lump in her throat. Orochimaru, still beneath the computer console, shrinks back in horror as Jikken's head and torso roll to the ground in front of him.

"You…" Sasuke growls, still struggling. "He was…your subordinate…"

"And he served his purpose," she replies without emotion.

"You piece of scum…" a voice says from within the dust, Sakura's heart regains its rhythm as she recognize the shape there. Naruto, his clothes more battered and bloody than earlier, cradling his right arm—it looks like he didn't get away completely unscathed, even though he survived. "You just blew him up without even thinking about it!"

He throws himself forward, but Teisoko brings up the wires that have Sasuke tangled within; Naruto collides with this, and they both fall in a heap.

Teisoko's horrible mouth falls open a little. "Your skill with Shadow Clones is significant, if even I could not tell the difference. I will remember that the next time."

Her eyes burn brighter, and chakra gathers within her. There's a corresponding thrum of chakra from Jikken's head, and then his body pulls itself back together. Sakura watches in shock as the blood spatter and pieces of bone whiz back along their earlier trajectories, reassembling the body of Teisoko's lackey.

Naruto uses his elongated nails to slice down the cables holding Sasuke, and the two boys are once more back to back. "Ready to give up yet?"

" _Tch._ I could do this all day."

They set off again.

Naruto stops a pace in front of Sasuke, creating a bridge with his hands, and helps propel him into the air toward Teisoko. Taking a page from his teammate's book, Sasuke forms the hand signs and calls up four clones of himself, each with a kunai.

Teisoko snarls and uses her Mangekyo, causing the air to explode and the clones to disappear, but not before they launch their projectiles. The kunai, charged with purple electricity, plough through the chords holding Teisoko to the wall.

She falls forward in front of him.

Jikken, upon seeing his mistress fall, gives a roar and ploughs toward her. Naruto creates a barrier in front of him.

Meanwhile, Sakura finally makes it to the shivering boy hiding beneath the computer console, and slips into the shadow of the machine with him.

"Shh," she tells him, offering him what she hopes is a comforting smile. "It's okay. Everything is going to be alright."

"Where's Mama and Papa?" the tiny boy asks, his pupils narrowed to slits in his fright. "We were travelling to the village, and then…"

"We'll find them," Sakura interrupts quickly, "but for now, you have to be very quiet, okay? They can't find out you're here."

But at the same time, she watches with horrified eyes as Jikken finally grabs hold of the original Naruto, making his clones disappear. Before anyone can act, he lobs him into the golden time field.

Instantly, Naruto freezes in the same way that his adult self does.

 _No!_ Sakura screams mentally, clamping down on her lips to keep the sound from escaping her. At the same time, she wraps a hand around the boy's mouth, trying to muffle his crying. They can't draw attention, if they're found—

The child suddenly goes rigid.

Sakura whirls around just in time to see Jikken appear above them, triumph etched into every feature as he gazes down at the child that is Orochimaru. He doesn't even appear to be aware of Sakura, already grasping for the boy's neck.

"Mistress, I have him—!" he crows.

At the other end of the bubble, Teisoko appears to hesitate for a moment, giving Sasuke an opening.

He drops to the ground on one knee, panting as he studies the space between himself and Teisoko. The chords leading from her body all lie limply by her side; no longer attached to the wall, she is forced to stand on her own, her skeletal form heaving with the effort of remaining upright.

Despite her own weakness and the stiffness in her joints, Sakura forces herself to act. Mustering as much chakra as she can into her fists, just as Sarada said she did, Sakura throws herself between Orochimaru and Jikken, and slams her knuckles together on either side of Jikken's outstretched wrist.

There is a loud _crack_ as the bones break between her hands, and a sharp lance of pain as one of her knuckles splits. Jikken hisses and recoils, and Sakura hurries the child away.

"Hide wherever you can!" she whispers to him, before she is grasped roughly by the neck and thrown backwards. Jikken does not even seem to pay attention to her, so intent on getting the child Orochimaru. It gives Sakura a chance to recover, and form the handsigns.

" _Kanashibari!"_ she chokes, her paralysis jutsu taking him by surprise. She's too weak to maintain it very long, but it's enough for her to dart forward, and once more put herself between him and Orochimaru.

The jutsu wears off and Jikken's cold, furious eyes focus on her. "Get out of the way, or I will kill you."

"You'll kill me anyhow."

He smiles unpleasantly. "True."

He unleashes a barrage of taijutsu upon her that she has to call upon all of her training to even keep up with.

 _And I don't have Naruto's endurance or Sasuke's speed_ , she thinks, panicked. _This isn't going to last long!_

Sasuke doesn't notice her situation, focusing all his attention on Teisoko.

"Between powering your paradox and keeping yourself standing, I bet you don't have much energy left," he tells her, his mouth pulling upward in a smirk. "Stop it all now, or I will."

The woman cocks her head to one side. "You are just as spent as I…and I still…have enough power to stop you…if you come too close…"

"You're right," Sasuke growls, "which is why I _won't_ be."

He pulls his fists close to him, flexing his fingers back and tightening the wires he laid throughout the area while he was dodging her attacks. They pull taut around her, lashing her back toward the wall. A pink pouch of explosives hangs from the wires directly in front of Teisoko, deftly pressed into his hand when Sakura pressed her lips against his.

Sasuke is able to watch Teisoko's eyes widen a fraction before the tag explodes.

He jumps backward to avoid the blast.

And suddenly the world shifts.

The energy and warmth that fueled him before suddenly wash away, and he feels the curse-seal receding.

 _No!_ Sasuke thinks. _I just need…a little longer…_

His knees give way beneath him and he falls forward on his hands. His vision swims in and out of focus, unconsciousness beckoning. But one thing he sees with ease—Teisoko standing before him, unharmed by the blast though the wall behind her has been decimated by the explosion.

"I did tell you, little cousin," the woman says. "I still have enough power."

At the same time, Jikken lands one last forceful blow to Sakura's gut, rattling her ribs and internal organs, and sending her to the floor on all fours. She chokes out a mouthful of blood and vomit.

 _Internal bleeding, probably._

On the ground in front of her, she sees the outline of his body over her, preparing to strike her down one last time.

 _So, are you going to cower there like a little girl, or meet death like a shinobi_ , her inner self challenges her.

Swollen eyes flit toward Sasuke, who is struggling to stand, and shred of strength fills her, and then to the boy she is protecting. He watches her, open-mouthed.

 _I can still buy him another second,_ Sakura decides, bracing herself against the ground. _I… won't…falter!_

She looks up at Jikken, and chuckles wetly, ignoring the sharp pain of her split lips. "Is that…all you got…?"

He pulls back his fist, eyes bright with victorious glee.

"Sakura!" Sasuke yells, trying to summon the strength to get to her and knowing he won't be able to. The small child is crying in terror, no use to anyone, and Kakashi remains unconscious. With Naruto now trapped in the time bubble, he's the only one that can do anything.

And he's tapped out.

 _I'm going to watch her die_ , he realizes, his stomach rebelling. _It's going to happen again…_

But then, it doesn't.

All of a sudden, Sakura's body gives a spasm and a violent heave. Her face snaps upward and she jerks convulsively. There is a spray of blood and bile, and to everyone's astonishment, something black, feathered and screeching explodes from her mouth. Before anyone can understand what just happened, the _thing_ launches itself at Jikken.

Before the pale man can react, it propels itself at his face, the force of which shoves it straight through the other side of his head.

There is utter, stunned silence in the cavern, as everyone stares in disbelief at the gaping, bloody hole where Jikken's eye and brain used to be. Several feet away, a chunk of brain matter gleams with a sigil that flickers and goes dark.

The bloody creature—a _crow?!_ —emits a victorious squawk, it's eye gleaming—

 _That's a Sharingan! That's…that's_ Shisui's _Sharingan!_

Sasuke's thought don't have time to make sense, before the creature explodes in a shower of unsubstantial feathers, leaving nothing behind but the mangled corpse.

Sakura falls weakly forward then, thumping to her knees, her shoulders shaking from effort and shock, while Jikken, the remainder of his face permanently twisted in surprise, falls like a broken doll.

つづく

* * *

 _And that ladies and gentlemen and other…is the end of Jikken. I hope it was surprising enough :P Also, hopefully my next update won't be a year from now. But then, now that I don't have to juggle Jikken's wearabouts in my head, maybe it will be easier :D_

 _Cheers!_

 _Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)._

 _栗_


	33. Interlude IV

**Author's Note:** Yeah. I did that. Another update within little over a week. I was just so excited about startign to post my original writing that I suddenly got inspired! As usual, pretty unedited. This is for everyone who wanted a bit of Adult!Sakura awesomeness. With some Adult!Hinata awesomeness too, because I love the supermoms! Also, um, **little bit of graphic violence here**.

* * *

Blackened bodies line the floor of the stone-enclosed rotunda, gaping holes where their hearts should be, and shrivelled remains of those organs crushed nearby.

Konohamaru flips the last of his opponents over his shoulder, directly in the path of Hinata, who shoves two fingers forward and detonates the chakra surrounding its heart. The bat-like creature screams, wings shaking, and then drops to the floor.

"Think that's all of them?" he asks, glancing at the two women.

The ground shakes again, forcing them to center their chakra against the floor to keep upright. There is a movement across from them, and then it seems as if the entire rocky wall in front of them, from ground to ceiling, suddenly breaks off.

Hateful yellow eyes glare down on them from on high, and a giant foot steps down, landing several metres away from them.

Konohamaru groans. "I had to ask, didn't I?"

Sakura sighs. "There's always a big one, isn't there?"

The veins in Hinata's eyes pulse, and her pupils flick back and forth quickly.

"There's more than one seal on this one!"

Which makes sense, considering its size.

"How many?" Konohamaru asks through gritted teeth as another foot stomps down, forcing giant craters into the floor beneath its clawed toes. Drools drips from the creatures maw, splashing over them.

"Eight!"

"Eight—like the Eight Gates?" Sakura cries, thinking fast. Everyone knows the location of those, if only from study.

"Exactly!"

The giant, shambling creature reaches down, trying to grasp hold of them in its mottled blood red hand. The shinobi scatter in different directions, but it almost grabs hold of Hinata. The curse-seal seems to make it faster than something of its size should be.

It swings for Sakura next, and she meets the blow with a snarl, punching its grasping hand away. It does not seem bothered by the blow, and once again goes for Hinata.

It specifically seems to be targeting the women, perhaps knowing that they are the key to its destruction. The constant flailing makes the ground shake and granite fall from above them, and in the distance, Konohamaru can hear _something_ collapse together.

 _It might be durable, but it's hindered by this place. If it keeps moving around like this, it will bring the place down!_

Which might not hurt it, but it could cause cave-ins elsewhere, and hurt his students and their parents. If only there was—

An idea occurs to him.

"Mrs Boss! Did Boruto ever tell you how his class passed their Academy final?"

Hinata and Sakura's eyes flick toward each other in a look of dawning comprehension.

"We need to confuse it first, so it doesn't know who to get to," Hinata says.

Sakura nods. "Alright, Konohamaru—we'll follow your lead on this one!"

"Right! _Kage Bunshin!"_

Four clones of him appear—the maximum he can sustain while also having them use any long-term A-rank techniques—and at the same the two women form hand signs for _Henge_.

Seven Konohamarus scatter as the curse-seal creature brings down its hand, raking across the stone ground. They spread out in a circle around the beast, and it tosses its head in frustration trying to decide who to go after first.

Using its momentary pause, the seven figures form their next bevvy of hand signs, and call out, " _Isshi Tojin!"_

A swirling seal formula radiates from all seven points, reaching to the edges of the circular room. Within the string light formation, the creature freezes, unable to move beyond it.

"Hinata!" the Konohamaru copy across the room suddenly says. "I have an idea, if you're game! But it could get messy!"

"Everything is already messy," the Konohamaru-copy to its right says.

"Konohamaru! Can you keep the circle together on your own for a few seconds?"

"As long as it's only a _few_ seconds," Konohamaru and his clones chorus.

"Alright then!" the clone that is Sakura says. "And… _now!"_

The copy beside her breaks in to a run, the sealing circle around it vanishing as it darts forward. Konohamaru grunts, feeling as if a heavy weight has been added to an already difficult burden, but holds tight.

Sakura maintains her own part of the seal until the last possible second, before letting go—Konohamaru snarls in effort as the weight doubles—and grabbing hold of the clone. At her touch, the transformation is undone the women revert to their normal forms. Sakura crouches, grabbing Hinata's around the left bicep and right thigh, and then propels her toward the giant.

In midair, twin lions flare to life as Hinata barrels to the creatures middle. As Hinata pierces through its abdomen, Sakura takes her position once more in the sealing circle.

Konohamaru shudders, still struggling under the weight of the jutsu, but then Sakura is focussing her chakra, taking much of the burden off of him.

The beast's back arches, and they can see frenzied, jagged movements beneath its leather skin—Hinata using her _Jūho Sōshiken_ from _inside._ Within seconds, blue flames burst from its abdomen and Hinata lands on the ground in a rain of black blood and viscera.

"I got three," she says grimly, spitting out blood.

Konohamaru and Sakura allow the _Isshi Tojin_ to break, and Sakura darts forward as the beast falls, knees folding beneath it and screaming in agony. Leaping through the air, she yells— _"SHANNARO!"_ —and slams two fists directly into its head, sending shards of bone into its eyes and brain.

 _That's two more,_ Konohamaru counts, leaping up onto the creature's chest and snarling, _"Doton: Doryuso!"_

Giant spikes of earth punch through the earth beneath them, puncturing it just above the abdomen and through the ribs.

"Did I get them all?" he demands, even as the creature continues to stir beneath them.

"No, there's one left!" Hinata calls from the ground. "You just missed the heart by inches!"

But Sakura is already charging forward, sliding into a crouch and kicking outward with her right leg. One of the spikes is shattered all the way through and begins to topple. She has it in her hands then, balancing the enormous slab of condensed mud, and brings it down hard on the left side of the giant's chest.

The beast gives one last screech and twitch, and then goes still.

The three of them wait, panting, for yet another wave of enemies to come at them, but it is utterly silent in the echoing chamber now.

Konohamaru lets out a breath and leans on his knees. "Oh, man, what a relief…I don't think I could do anymore!"

Hinata and Sakura glance at each other, and smile.

"I must look a real mess," Hinata says, anxiously pushing a blood-slicked lock of hair behind her ear. "I hope I don't make Boruto and Naruto worry, thinking I'm hurt."

"You look fine," Sakura grins. "I've seen much worse. And they know you better than to think _that_ could hurt you."

"Hm." Hinata nods. "Alright, let's go."

They start toward the rickety staircase, and something occurs to Konohamaru.

"Hey—hey, wait! I have a name for that combo you guys used: The Boss Lady Stream!"

"Not now, Konohamaru…"

つづく

* * *

 _Hope you enjoyed it! Also, this is the last Interlude before the end of the story. Gasp! I know! Who knew this story was ever going to end?! But as of right now, I've got five chapters and an epilogue outlined. Of course, when I predict how many chapter I always tend to be a little off, and I really like the idea of having the fic be 40 chapters in total (including prologue, interludes and epilogues), but we'll see…_

 _If you enjoy my writing, I encourage you to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu), where you can find information about reading my original, non-fandom work._

 _栗_


	34. Chapter Twenty-Nine

**Author's Note:** As usual, unedited. And it's a little shorter than the other chapters, but I'm sure I'll fix that when I come through with the final edits. For now, just enjoy! (Woot, my November Nano Challenge to finish IOG is shaping up well!)

 **Estimated Time To End of Fic:** 4-5 Chapters

* * *

Sarada's fist connects with the wall, the power of her tightly controlled chakra surging out of her with purpose. Sweat beads upon her forehead as she concentrates all of her being on maintaining a constant force, of hitting that _one_ spot in the wall _just_ the right way.

Cracks spiderweb outward, tearing across the uneven stone and rippling across floor and ceiling. The solid layers of stone beneath bend and strain against the pressure exerted by her strike, and finally give.

Cracks split open, slicing through the seals upon the vortices of the ward circle on the ceiling and floor. The intricate characters vanish at the same time as the barrier is broken.

Boruto tosses a shuriken into the space once occupied by the circle, and it bounces to the ground without a scratch.

The disintegration field is turned off.

"Nice!" Boruto cries, and immediately starts toward the cage. "Alright, let's blow this thing!" Again, wind gathers in his palm, preparing to hurl one of his vanishing projectiles, but Sarada stops him.

"Don't just destroy it," she says.

"What? Are you kidding me?! That's the whole reason we came down here!"

"You can only destroy it _once_. What happens if the whole thing has become self-sustaining, or there's a back-up that can only be turned off by the main computer? Then it won't matter if you destroy this machine! Let's try _turning it off_ before we blow it up."

"We _don't_ have _time_ for this!"

"Actually, I think time has become completely irrelevant," Mitsuki remarks.

"Fine. Time issues aside, I like existing. What happens if you destroy it and we get ripped apart by some kind of fallout?"

This causes Mitsuki to pause. "That makes sense. It might be, this machine acts like a giant magnet. Suddenly reversing the poles of a magnet can cause attraction and pull them together—possibly causing them to crash into each other."

"And we don't want anything crashing or exploding into us! What if the machine suddenly stops pushing the paradox outward? It might contract in on us. But maybe if we _slowly_ turn it off, the damage could be lessened."

"Even if that were the case, none of us are exactly geniuses with computers," Boruto points out in irritation. "Without someone like Denki, we could stand here pressing buttons for ages."

"I believe I could figure it out," Mitsuki volunteers.

"Huh? You?"

"I grew up surrounded by computers. And this model looks familiar. I suspect it even runs on the same operating system. I could probably find a function that allows for a slow decrease of power-levels."

Boruto doesn't look entirely convinced, and Sarada finds her suspicions about Mitsuki's background swimming to the forefront of her mind just then.

 _We don't have time for that conversation_.

"I still think we should blow it up," Boruto mutters, but he approaches the cage around the terminal and begins to pick the lock on it.

"We can still do that if Mitsuki doesn't figure out another way," Sarada insists.

The pale boy takes up a position in front of the terminal, studying the small, bright green digital characters. A beat later, his fingers begin to fly across the key-pad beneath the screen. Boruto and Sarada position themselves in front of the entrance, in case any other unwanted guests burst in on them.

Their caution seems justified when they hear the _clank_ noise of movement on the metal scaffolding outside, growing louder and closer with every second. Sarada cracks her knuckles, the Sharingan activating so she can track whatever threat comes at them. Boruto's fingers spark with yellow electricity, not wanting to risk the destruction on the cavern that a wind-based attack might cause.

And then the entrance darkens with the shapes of three figures, but they are _not_ the curse-seal creatures. Mama, Konohamaru and—

"Mom?!" Boruto yelps in shock, taking in the startling figure that is his mother. Only she barely resembles her: blood has slicked her hair to her neck and head, though some effort has been made to clean up, and her clothing is likewise drenched. "What happened?! Are you okay?"

He darts forward, attack forgotten, and Sarada relaxes as well as the adults duck into the grotto with them.

"I'm fine," Aunt Hinata insists. "There was…a bit of a mess."

"No kidding!"

"At any rate, we're done with all those curse marked monsters," Konohamaru says. "So let's hear it for small victories, hey?"

"What's going on here?" Mama asks. "I thought you three went after Naruto and Sasuke?"

"We did," Boruto said. "But when we got up there, that Teisoko creep had them frozen in a pocket of time! It's like a sphere all the way around her, and if we tried to get in, we would have been frozen too!"

"So I figured it might be a better idea to stop whatever power source is allowing her to maintain that time field. Then we can free Papa and Uncle Naruto and they can deal with her and Jikken!"

"But how are you intending to stop it?" Konohamaru asks, glancing over at Mitsuki.

"I'm trying to find the proper command for a gradual shutdown, instead of a forced shutdown," Mitsuki says.

"We're worried doing that might cause a rebound of some kind," Sarada explains.

"Yeah, well, I'm more worried that Jikken and Teisoko are going to make mincemeat out of Mom and Dad's past-selves, but then _I_ was overruled—"

" _What did you say_?" Mama interrupts Boruto, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Oh, yeah, your past-selves got the brilliant idea to use Teisoko's portal opening and Old Man Kakashi's Sharingan to stick themselves right in the middle of everything," Boruto complains. "I don't know what they did, but it knocked Kakashi out, and—"

"They'll be killed!" Hinata gasps.

"Probably," Mitsuki says, still frowning at the tiny screen. "Since everyone is still here, it hasn't happened yet, however the odds are not favorable."

"Then we don't have time," Mama says. "That machine has to stop, and it has to stop now."

"But…" Sarada begins.

"Normally I'd agree that the careful approach is best, Sarada, but right now, every second counts. If we don't act now, our past selves and Kakashi-sensei are dead."

"But what I we all explode?"

"Winking out of existence quietly or in an explosion, it's the same result. If I had to gamble on what course of action is most likely to save everyone…" Mama shakes her head. "Mitsuki, please move aside while I deal with this."

"Yes! Aunt Sakura rocks!" Boruto cheers, while Mitsuki shrugs and moves away. Whatever happened to him during his captivity, he has recovered himself enough that his temperate and agreeable nature has returned. And more than happy to once again align himself with Boruto.

Sarada is still hesitant about the whole thing, but she lets Aunt Hinata move her and the rest of the team out of the cavern. From a safe distance, they watch as Mama strides forward and bends the bars around the computer terminal with ease. Then, she shoves her fists into the computer.

Circuits fry and crackle around her, and smoke spews from the broken terminal, but she doesn't stop, reaching further in and parting metal and wire as if its were cottage cheese. Then with a yank, she pulls the whole thing out of the wall—along with a significant portion of thick, black metal piping.

The cables within the pipe are as thick as Sarada's thigh, and lead upward through the stone, radiating electricity and a familiar golden chakra. Once Mama yanks the computer terminal away, though, the bright energy fizzles and disappears.

Silence echoes all around them, and Sarada's ears pop, the omnipresent hum she barely noticed before now gone.

Then, something begins to rumble.

It starts within the room where Mama continues to stand, and the ceiling starts to crack and crumble in earnest, the gap where the giant pipes were laid folding in on itself.

"Move!" Mama yells, and drops the terminal to one side, before diving from the cavern, just in time to avoid the little room collapsing in on her.

The movement doesn't stop there, however, and before their eyes, an entire section of the rotunda begins to cave in on itself. The scaffolding they stand on churns and twists, and they are forced to make a run for it, jumping from stairs and platforms that crumble beneath their feet.

As they reach the bottom once more, stumbling over the unmoving bodies of the curse-mark creatures, the entire scaffolding disintegrates before their eyes.

Far at the top of the dome, they watch as an eerie gold light emanating from Teisoko's grotto, winks out.

"We stopped it!" Boruto cheers.

"You think?" Sarada asks, not entirely sure.

"Your mothers are both still here," Mitsuki points out.

Which is true, but…

It's too quiet up top, which could mean the cavern collapsed in on itself the minute the time pocket disappeared. And while she's sure Papa would be able to get everyone out before they got squished…

The fact that he hasn't yet makes her worry.

"There's a suspicious lack of mayhem for a place where both our husbands are," Mama says. "Hinata and I will look into it. And Konohamaru—this time I _mean_ it. Take the kids and—"

"Sarada! Watch out!"

Aunt Hinata, whose back was turned to her, suddenly whirls around and reaches out to her, alarmed. As everyone else turns to her, a hand reaches out behind her, grasping her by the neck and dragging her backward.

She can only gape as the images of her loved ones vanish in a flash of golden light.

ナルト

 _Itachi Uchiha is a sociopath._

That thought is the clearest one Sakura can muster just then,

She kneels, her entire body trembling from shock and pain and confusion, and her stomach is turning in on itself, and she wants to throw up, because somewhere, an entire _crow_ just burst out of her mouth—

Her vision blurs, reality bending around her, and she thinks she can hear his voice again, chillingly soft and measured.

… _.Protect Sasuke…tell him…_

But she can't quite get the words into focus.

There's no time to dwell, anyhow. Teisoko is motionless before her, staring at the body of her lackey in disbelief, and that's probably why she hasn't made a countermove yet.

 _Assets_ , Sakura prompts herself, trying to shock her mind back into working. _What assets do I have?_

None, it seems.

Sasuke lies upon the ground, staring at her in shock, unable to pull himself to his feet, whether from lack of chakra or lack of strength. Probably both. Kakashi is still unconscious, and Orochimaru is barely out of toddlerhood, scared and huddled behind her. And Naruto is gone, too, trapped in the same time bubble as his and Sasuke's future selves.

And Teisoko is moving again.

Free of her cables, she has very little strength beyond standing, but her Sharingan remains active.

 _There_ has _to be a way to distort her gaze, to get past her._

Her body is so frail—almost that of a mobile skeleton—that someone of Sakura's relative weakness should be able to take her in a straight-up fight, even as bruised and battered as she is now. It's the dōjutsu that adds the danger element.

Even as she considers it, her muscles throb in protest and her vision swims with black spots.

Teisoko bears her teeth at Sakura, who averts her gaze, and then looks toward Sasuke. He flinches as her ruined mouth pulls into a perversion of a smile, and then returns her attention to Sakura.

"Give me the child," she rasps, "and I will spare you in your last moments. You can hold your love for what remains of your existence."

There is no doubt in her voice that the end of everything is close, and it terrifies Sakura.

This is not the usual fear that hits her during a dangerous mission, the kind that can be pushed off and talked away, with the distant hope of 'some way we'll pull this off!' that always lingers at the back of her mind. Truthfully, the only time she ever feels like that is when Naruto makes one of his impassioned speeches.

She flicks her eyes to where her friend if frozen now.

" _My name is Naruto Uzumaki! And my future dream…is to surpass the Hokage! And so, I'm going to get the entire village to acknowledge my existence!"_

But this isn't the Forest of Death, where Team Ten and Team Gai wait in the wings to help her until her boys wake up. She is literally facing off against death on her own, with no question that she will die.

Her inner self even wonders if it might not be better to agree to Teisoko's terms. To go hold on to Sasuke for a few final moments. It would be fitting…

" _I'm Sakura Haruno! What I like…I mean, who I like is… And my hobby is… My future dream is…"_

Sasuke meets her eyes, furious and frustrated and trying to think around this latest obstacle. His face pulls into a snarl of defiance in the face of death, but as he meets Sakura's gaze, there's a momentary flicker.

He can tell what's going through her mind, can see her temptation to give in. And he doesn't even blame her for it because…he's so tired. He doesn't remember a time when he wasn't fighting, and right now, he's at his limit.

 _My name's…Sasuke Uchiha…I have an ambition…to restore my clan…_

He is bruised and bleeding and about to die, but in this one instant, that ambition is not what comes through in his gaze. All his thoughts and attention lock on her, _waiting._

Sakura's lips part in astonishment.

 _This_ is the boy she loves.

This is the person who has had her heart by inches since she was six years old, and who will _always_ have it. And right then, in that infinitesimal short moment, she understands without question—the same way she knew she had to save Sarada before she even knew the girl was her future child—she knows that even if Sasuke doesn't show it or properly acknowledge it himself, she has _his_ heart, too.

And she's not about to betray that for momentary comfort.

Sakura struggles to her feet, half-expecting muscles and bone to snap beneath her from sheer exhaustion.

"Sakura!" Sasuke bites out, an effortful warning or plea.

It doesn't matter.

Sasuke can still save the Uchiha, and restore them…even without her.

Right now, if the choice is between both of them dying or just her, there _is_ no choice. Maybe there's no guarantee that Sarada's mother _has_ to be her, maybe Sasuke can find a chance at happiness if she succeeds.

 _And I would give anything to protect your happiness,_ she remembers saying as she moves her body into a crouch. She draws out her last cherry blossom tag. "Because you…are the person…that is most precious… _to me!"_

She charges Teisoko.

The emaciated woman snarls, preparing in her own way for the attack, her Sharingan the ever-present threat.

" _Sakura!"_

But she is already vaulting through the air, gaze fixed just below Teisoko's eyes, concentrating all effort and awareness on trying to sense where the next assault will come from. She dodges explosions and time portals left to right, and notes with a boost of confidence that they are coming much slower now. Fast enough to dodge with relative ease.

Teisoko is weakened too, whatever threat she still possesses, and Sakura does not intend to waste that.

As she enters into Teisoko's immediate range, the place where the ancient Uchiha has more control, Sakura throws her last bomb directly at the woman's face and _prays_ that despite the fifty-fifty chance she has—

Teisoko detonates the explosive with the spin of her Mangekyo Sharingan, and Sakura laughs in triumph. Caution and self-preservation thrown to the wind, she vaults directly into the path of the explosion, bursting through the flame with her right arm raised and screaming.

" _SHAN-NA-ROOOOO!"_

Her fist connects with Teisoko's sternum, and she feels it shatter beneath her knuckles, the fore of her chakra rending surrounding ribs and muscle, and in that moment—

Her eyes meet Teisoko's scarlet gaze.

The black wheel in the iris contracts in pain and rage, and Sakura knows what's about to happen, but there's no course-correcting now.

Sound and heat explodes around her, followed by a searing pain, and then nothing.

Sakura's body is thrown backward from the force, and unlike the first time, when she saved Sasuke from suffering the same fate, she doesn't get up again.

Sasuke doesn't realise he's screaming until the last remnants of the explosion clears the air, leaving a heavy silence within the pocket of time. Sakura's body twitches in pain, the only indication that she's still alive. Her entire front is a mass of blood and bone and blackened blisters; her left eye, the one that remains unruined, stares up at him emptily.

Teisoko clutches at the wall, trying to stand while glaring down at Sakura's body. She coughs, blood drippling down her lips, and then begins to laugh, a dry and heaving sound.

"I'm…still…standing, girl," she hisses. "And now…no one…can stop…me!"

She turns her back on the ruined remnants of Team 7, and lurches toward Orochimaru. The tiny boy is crying and scrambling, trying to push himself further into the equipment but having nowhere to go.

"You…are mine… _filth_!"

She reaches out a spindly hand to pull him toward her.

A flat plane of violet chakra erupts between Orochimaru and Teisoko, throwing her back before she can touch the boy. It's a shapeless slab in the air, resembling a large human rib.

Sasuke's head feels like it's on fire, like a switch has been flipped in his brain, and whatever strength remains in his body now bleeds into his eyes. They burn, and every other cell in his body burns right along with them.

Teisoko recoils. "Susanoo…no…that can't…be…"

She turns to Sasuke, who stumbles to his feet.

With every movement, he can feel the life leaving his body. With his chakra exhausted from the curse-seal, he thinks he might just be burning through his own life force to keep that shield—the same one his older self used—between Teisoko and Orochimaru. He has no other goal now other than to continue the protection that Sakura offered before sacrificing herself.

Sasuke can see the damage to Teisoko's body, and if he can get to her—

Blood drains down his face from both eyes, tear tracks that mirror those of the woman before him. Sensation in his extremities disappears—toes and fingers, then calves and forearms, and he pitches to his knees.

If he has to fucking _crawl_ he's going to do it.

The world flickers, narrowing to dim grey shades, and he's dying, he knows it. Sakura's dying, Kakashi might already be dead, and Naruto is frozen in time, and Sarada…

Sarada will never exist.

He's dying, but he'll be damned if he isn't taking the _monster_ in front of him out too—

The golden wall of chakra around them ripples, once—then twice in quick succession, and then the earth begins to rumble beneath them. They shouldn't be able to feel that, trapped in the bubble of time as they are, but the more the golden chakra begins to wane, the more the world shakes.

Crevices split into the walls beyond the time pocket, and Teisoko stumbles back against the wall where she was secured. Gravity pulls Sasuke downward, and he falls weakly onto Sakura, sprawled across her.

The world edges away, and somehow his left hand falls into her right, and he thinks _now_ there's nothing else, now he can sleep.

But the earth is shaking too much and the time bubble is vibrating, and he thinks he sees his future self's fingers begin to twitch—

Searing hot, golden light pulses and then explodes outward, blanketing everything. Sasuke has the impression of a rubber band suddenly contracting in on itself, before it pulls inward, jettisoning toward Teisoko.

There's an instant where it passes over him and he is nothing.

No sight, no sound, no movement…no sensation. He ceases to exist.

Awareness returns with a roar, and he watches as the golden band wall that passed over him _slams_ into Teisoko, flattening her against the wall, before she falls face-down on the ground.

She doesn't move.

And Sasuke can _notice_ all of this because suddenly he can _feel_ again!

There's no pain anymore, he realises as he pushes himself up, staring at his hands. They are devoid of any bruising or telltale signs of scuffle. Turning his head to the right, he gapes at Sakura, who blinks up at him in confusion from two perfectly whole seafoam eyes. Her face is restored, and her skin no longer hands in blistered shreds.

"Sasuke?" she asks, bewildered, and his chest constricts with disbelief and respite because _she is not dead_. "Sasuke!"

Then she is throwing herself forward, wrapping her arms around his neck despite the awkward angle, and her grip his suffocating, but he doesn't push her away. He's too stunned at their wholeness, the fact they are both completely intact, so much so that even their _clothing_ is mended. Somehow, Sasuke is wearing his high-collared blue shirt again, and Sakura's tunic is its full length, and Naruto—

He whips his head around, watching as his teammate and their future selves stumble as if taking a wobbly step forward. They all seem mildly confused, except for Adult Sasuke, whose gaze is locked on something behind Sasuke. He discovers what when another body knocks into his, and looking down, the child Orochimaru has grabbed on to Sakura's free arm, clutching at her like a lifeline.

In this bizarre place, she must, and Sasuke can't even blame him for it because something in him thinks the exact same thing.

"What the hell just happened?!" Naruto demands, gazing around at the cavern that is no longer taken up by the thick, curved wall of chakra. "How'd I get here?"

"You entered the time field just as we did," Sasuke's future self says. "While you were in it, you were frozen, but something disrupted it and it rebounded on its creator."

"And in the process, it appears to have returned us to the condition we were in before we encountered this paradox," a voice adds, and they all glance over to where Kakashi is getting to his feet. There is no hint of blood in his mask, no clawing shreds across his chest from Mumyōi.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Sakura whoop, and she lets go of Sasuke to get to her feet. Orochimaru buries his face in her hip, and despite her bemused look, she allows it.

Sasuke tamps down the inexplicable and unwanted glimmer of annoyance at that, and looks away pointedly. His gaze falls upon the still unmoving corpse of Jikken. "If time reset us all, why didn't Jikken come back to life?"

Not that he's complaining, but…

"He was dead," Sasuke's future self says simply.

"And the chakra sigil binding him to Teisoko was severed," the future Naruto says. "That was the only thing that was keeping him reanimating. I imagine he's been dead for a long time."

"As for the rest of us, none of us were dead," Future Sasuke continues. "Cells frozen in time are different from those that have expired."

He is watching Sakura with a set to his jaw and Sasuke knows exactly what he's feeling.

 _She was never dead._

He holds one hand out in front of him, calling upon his Sharingan and finding that it is no effort to do so. The strange burning sensation from earlier is gone, and he wonders for a moment if what happened to him moments earlier meant that he briefly, _very_ briefly, possessed the same eyes as his brother.

Because of Sakura.

 _No,_ he tells himself, very firmly. _It wasn't that._

It's not a strong denial, but it's enough for now.

"But wait a minute," Naruto says, frowning. "How the heck did Jikken die? One second, I was fighting him and then… _bam_! I'm here."

"It was Sakura," Future Sasuke says. "With a little help."

She looks up in surprise. "How do you know that? You were frozen."

"The Rinnegan allows me to see beyond time. While I was trapped, I was still aware of what was going on." Future Sasuke scowls at them all now, before his eyes rest on Kakashi. "You were all reckless coming here. It almost killed you, and us."

"Puh- _lease_ , asshole," Naruto snorts. "You'd still be a timesicle if it weren't for us showing up."

"Speaking of," his future self says, "this isn't over."

"No, it's not," a cold voice interrupts, and everyone stills. The voice is new, and yet _not_ , and when they all look over, they stare in horror at a standing Teisoko.

Only it's not the chilling, living dead goddess they all battled until the point of death. A woman, barely out of her teens, stands before them. She looks uncomfortably like Sarada, only her eyes are slits of red anger, and her mouth is twisted into a cruel smile.

The time bubble rebounded on her as well, and instead of destroying her, it seems to have reset her to the way she once was, too.

Adult Sasuke twitches, like he's about to move, but Teisoko's Sharingan is back to its full power as well, and she freezes him in place once more.

"I might not be able to change time from outside my personal timeline the way I planned, but my abilities remain otherwise intact," she sneers. "In fact, they are stronger than they ever were. All that chakra I gathered? Its _in me_ now! And none of you will be able to stop me from going back and ending this hell of a world before it begins."

"That's what you think," Adult Naruto says, and his fiery chakra flames to life.

"Oh, I do not think. I _know_. Because the larger paradox is retracting, too. As it builds speed, it will erase everything out of its proper temporal location," she drawls. Her Sharingan flicks to one side, and a portal opens. She reaches into it, and then yanks her arm back, dragging a stunned Sarada back to her by the throat. "And you will all be far too busy looking for _this one_ to escape it!"

And with a final sneer, she opens a second portal and charges toward it, yanking Sarada along with her.

つづく

* * *

 _Soooo. Better or worse than the Itachi-related cliffhangers?_

 _Everyone's been dying for mini-Sakura being badass and having mini-Sasuke actually see it, so here you go! And yes, Sasuke briefly awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan for Sakura's sake…but since the time pocket rebounded, he was also "reset to factory settings" like everyone else. Which means his Sharingan was too :P Don't y'all just love timey-wimey stuff?_

 _Thanks for reading my story, and I hope you enjoy it! Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome, and if you want to support my writing, check out my tumblr for more information on my original writing!_

栗


	35. Chapter Thirty

**Author's Note** : As promised, next chapter of IOG. As usual, this is not edited. I have a bunch of stuff in earlier chapters to go back and fix, so hopefully when I do that I'll go through this and clean it up a bit. It's a bit choppy in some places, but considering the nature of events, if I went into too much detail I think you guys would get bored…

* * *

Several things happen simultaneously.

Kakashi and Future Naruto both dart forward, as Teisōko barrels toward the time portal with Sarada. Giant tendrils of flame and light explode from this Naruto, straining toward Sarada as Kakashi puts on a burst of speed to reach her. He manages to brush her ankle before she and Teisōko vanish through the portal.

"Sarada!" Kakashi's students all shout in shock and dismay.

"Damn it!" Naruto snarls as his glowing chakra hands swipe at the empty air. The overwhelming chakra recedes.

With Teisōko gone, the power keeping Future Sasuke in place disappears, and he stalks forward, Rinnegan blazing to life in his left eye. "Move, I'm going after her."

"How?" Future Naruto asks. "You don't even know where they went—or when."

"The seam in reality still fresh, I can follow the trail."

"But there are infinite layers of time and space you'd have to weed through first, aren't there?" Sakura cries. "That could take forever!"

"Not necessarily," Kakashi says. "I managed to place a chakra trace on her before she went through. It's faint, but it's there. I'll go with you and—"

There's a commotion at the entrance to the cavern, and everyone tenses, expecting a new wave of curse-sealed monsters to arrive. Instead, the rest of Team Konohamaru arrive, with Hinata and Sarada's mother in tow. The woman is pale beneath the mark on her forehead, and her eyes dart around the space with a sort of manic desperation, before they fall upon her husband.

"Sarada?" she croaks.

Future Sasuke's jaw is set and he shakes his head. To anyone who doesn't know him, he would seem unaffected, but Sasuke knows that look from experience. His future self is probably gritting his teeth so hard he's in danger of breaking them.

And so he has to be the one to tell her, "Teisōko took her through a time portal."

Future Sakura's hand claps to her mouth in disbelief.

"Then we have to go after her!" Boruto declares.

"She could be anywhere," Mitsuki points out, Sasuke thinks if anyone looks unaffected, it's this strange kid.

"Everyone calm down," Future Naruto orders. "We will figure something out."

"Calm down?!" the younger Naruto demands. "Did you see what just happened? That creepy and old lady got made all…creepy and _young_ , and powerful, and she grabbed Sarada! This isn't the time to be calm!"

"It's exactly the time to be calm," Kakashi informs him in a level voice, "because we have a slew of problems coming at us and a limited time to deal with them. Missteps at this juncture could be fatal."

"As if they're not already?" Sakura asks, and then jumps a little when the small boy at her side burrows in closer to her hip.

"I want to go home," he murmurs tremulously.

She shivers a little. He's a defenceless kid right _now_ , but in a few decades, he will grow up and become one of the most terrifying people she has ever met.

She swallows, trying to put that out of her mind, and hesitantly pats his head. She supposes that at this age, it's not his fault what he becomes in the future. Probably there's something that happens for him to become like that, but it hasn't happened yet. So he's just a scared little kid, surrounded by strangers and with no idea what's going on.

"We'll find a way," she tells him, hoping she's not wrong.

"Sarada's disappearance is a problem, yes, but not the most immediate one," Kakashi goes on, earning identical cries of outrage from Naruto and Boruto, but he puts a hand up, "While it won't derail history up until this point in time, we have no idea what it will do to the future, so obviously we have to get her back, but it's not the most pressing matter."

"My ass it's not the most pressing matter," Future Sakura growls, and Sakura is a little scared of herself just then, because she's never seen that particular look on her face.

"We will," her husband says, in a tone that offers no other alternative. As if even the gods wouldn't dare make him a liar.

"We will," Kakashi echoes. "As I was saying earlier, I managed to place a chakra marker on her, the same way I did with Jikken after our encounter in the tunnels. Wherever Sarada is—whenever she is—we should be able to find her. Especially with the space between dimensions being as thin as it is."

"It's still going to take a while," Sakura protests.

"We have to be quick."

"And that's the other problem," Future Sasuke says. "The paradox surrounding this area is no longer being sustained by the machinery Teisōko was using to augment her power. It will be sucked back inward, and whoever or whatever is in the middle of it will be obliterated by the force."

"And we still have to get Orochimaru home," Future Naruto says, eyeing the child hanging on to Sakura. "Even if we manage to avoid getting ripped apart by the paradox's backlash, if he's not back in his time once it retracts, the timeline will be disrupted anyhow."

"But isn't that true for all of us?" Sakura asks.

"Yes, but your time is closer to our time than Orochimaru's is. And he has…will have, a lot of influence on everyone in this room at one point or another."

"Sasuke, can you find where he was taken from by scanning the portal the kids and I came through?" Kakashi asks.

"It could take a while, which we don't have."

"Hinata?" Future Naruto asks. "Can you see how far off that thing is?"

"About ten minutes," Hinata says, squinting into the distance. "But I could be wrong. The wave of chakra seems to be picking up speed the closer to the origin of the paradox that it gets."

"Then let's do this now," Future Naruto says. "It will also give Sasuke a chance to test the strength of the genjutsu needed to make sure all of you forget this."

"If we survive," Naruto mutters.

"If we survive."

Future Sasuke treads over to Sakura and Orochimaru, who shrinks closer into her side.

The kid tries to hide behind her, fearful of the intimidating adult in front of them. If Sakura didn't know it was Sasuke, and if she didn't trust him with her entire being, she thinks she would be afraid too. Remembering how Kakashi encouraged her to speak to Sarada when they first found her in the crater, Sakura reaches out to stroke his hair. "Hey, don't worry, okay? He's not going to hurt you."

Yellow eyes peek up at her, doubtful.

"May I try?"

Sakura looks up at the soft voice and sees that Mitsuki has appeared behind her. He looks down at the boy with an indecipherable look, though she gets a distinct sense of curiosity and amazement.

Two sets of yellow eyes consider one another, and is it just her, or do these two boys sort of look similar?

 _No way. There's no way…!_

Mitsuki smiles then and raises his hand. In the palm of it, a tiny white snake appears, sliding from beneath the wide sleeve of his robe.

"You like snakes, right?" he asks Orochimaru. "Would you like to hold him?"

The little boy's eyes dart to the snake, lighting up in interest. He nods and takes a tentative step away from Sakura, holding out his palm. Mitsuki reaches out, allowing the small serpent to slither around Orochimaru's arm.

"Why the hell does he have a—?" Naruto begins, but Sasuke reaches out and claps a hand across his mouth. He is rapidly putting together a few things in his head, and while he isn't entirely sure he cares for the conclusion, they don't have time for Naruto to muck it all up with an overreaction. Kakashi, coming to the same conclusion, studies the adult versions of his students. It is the Future Naruto who meets his gaze, and nods in confirmation.

Kakashi has no idea what to think.

Sakura watches the encounter, somewhat awed, and then shakes her head.

"We have a way to get you back to your parents, okay? But you have to let Sasuke come over to help."

The boy glances over at the blank-faced adult, then back at Sakura and Mitsuki. Something like trust enters his eyes and, cradling the snake like an anchor, he takes a step forward.

Future Sasuke doesn't come any closer, and instead gets down on a knee to put himself at eye level with the boy.

"Look into my eyes," he tells the boy. "I need to scan your memories to find out where exactly to bring you. It will not hurt."

The pale boy's lip trembles, but he squares his shoulders and nods.

The Sharingan glows, and Orochimaru tenses. It's only a second, though they all know in his mind it might be much longer, and then Sasuke releases him, straightening up.

"I know where he was," he says and strides over to the spot where Kakashi and his squad burst through the portal. He braces himself in front of it, and there's a flare of purple light around his silhouette. "Got it."

A portal opens behind him, purple and black energy swirling together shapelessly for a few seconds, before something similar to Teisōko's time windows radiates from the centre. It's like a pane of glass opening onto a sunlit day, the forest and road stretching out beyond.

"I don't see anyone over there," Sakura says.

"They're there," Hinata speaks up, her eyes roving toward the portal for a moment. "They're far enough away they won't see this portal, but not too far that he won't be able to catch up with them."

Sakura ventures forward, nudging the little Orochimaru with her. He hesitates a moment, then turns to Mitsuki, who nods, and follows her.

"You have to go through there, okay?" Sakura says. "Your parents are over there. You just have to walk through."

"I-I...I understand," Orochimaru murmurs, swallowing as he steps toward the portal.

"Wait a moment," Future Sasuke says. "Look at me." Orochimaru looks up, and the black star in Sasuke's Sharingan spins. The boy's eyes go blank and his fearful expression relaxes. "Once you step over the threshold of the portal, you will forget ever coming here. You simply fell behind your parents. Run to catch up with them."

The boy nods slowly, and then walks forward with the shuffling gait of a sleepwalker.

Everyone watches with bated breath as he steps into the window, the snake Mitsuki gave him vanishing as soon as he is on the other side.

The window snaps shut, the portal disappearing, and with it the boy.

There's a moment of silence where no one dares to breathe. Then,

"Did that work?" Naruto wants to know.

"We're all still here, so I'd say Orochimaru never remembered anything," Future Naruto says. "Trust me when I say if he remembered, things would be very different…"

"Is it just me, or did he look a bit like you?" Boruto asks Mitsuki, who shrugs guilelessly.

"Next problem," Future Naruto declares. "Sarada."

"And trying to figure out a way to escape the impending bubble of time that will rip us all to shreds," Sakura adds. "Both of those things seem equally important."

"Either option could lead to the destruction of the other," Sasuke points out.

"Six minutes," Hinata warns them all.

"Could you temporarily place everyone in a separate dimension, like you did with Past Us earlier?" Future Sakura asks her husband, a note of urgency in her voice.

"If you even think about sticking me in the damned sand again—" Naruto begins.

"Perhaps, but it would strain my chakra," Future Sasuke replies. "I'll need every bit of it to find Sarada. Unlike with Orochimaru, whose time I could find because he was here, there are many potential timelines Sarada could have crossed. Even with Kakashi having placed a trace on her…" His fist clenches, and Sasuke knows what he's thinking: he might have to choose between saving his past self and saving his daughter. "And I wouldn't be able to go through myself. It would only be enough for her to come through, assuming we even find her."

"Don't act as if I'm not going to be standing here helping you look," Future Naruto says wryly. "You need a chakra sensor, and I'm way better than you. Not to mention I've got the reserves to spare to improve your range."

His eyes gleam yellow with his senjutsu.

"And you'll both need someone to make sure your hearts don't explode from the effort, so you know I'm staying to help too," Future Sakura sniffs. "Never mind that it's my daughter and there's no freaking way I'm going anywhere until she's safe..."

"Sasuke, if you open a portal, Konohamaru and I can make sure the kids and Kakashi get to safety," Hinata says. "Until you figure something else out."

"No way! We're staying to help!" Boruto protests.

"I'm not exactly looking forward to dying in a desert or freezing to death in another dimension if Future Me dies," Sasuke adds in agreement. "So, what's the difference if we all just stay here?"

"Yeah! We want to help find Sarada, too!" Naruto insists, while Sakura and Mitsuki nods in agreement. "We can...lend chakra or something!"

"The difference is, the probability of us getting out unscathed is significantly higher than it is for you guys," Future Sakura replies.

"Since we've had more practice, you know," Future Naruto adds.

"Screw that, I'm still not getting stuck in some stupid desert again!"

"Naruto, this isn't up for discussion," Kakashi says. "If worse comes to worse, I can find us a way out. Probably."

"Oh, like that makes me feel any better!"

"And that helps you guys, but what about us?" Boruto wants to know.

"We are technically linked to a different time," Mitsuki agrees.

"What if we skip that step entirely?" Sakura suggests. "I mean, if it's such a strain on Future Sasuke to portal us somewhere safe, why don't you do it, Kakashi-sensei? It _is_ how we got here in the first place."

"You do remember that almost killed me?" he reminds her with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I don't mean open portals to other dimensions…just _one_ dimension." Everyone is staring at her now, and she swallows, nervous to have so many eyes on her. "Kakashi-sensei used his Kamui before to trap Jikken. That's a dimension that's outside of whenever we are now, right? So, if the time bubble collapses in on itself and destroys whatever's right here, if we're in a different dimension, we should be safe, _and_ Kakashi-sensei can bring us back to our time, since he's connected to it!"

The Konohanin from the future exchange tense glances. Surprisingly, it is Future Sasuke who speaks.

"The Kamui dimension is…problematic."

"Why? We used it before," Sasuke says.

"And it's pure luck that that turned out as well as it did," Future Naruto says. "As it is, we don't know if it didn't have any…unforeseen consequences."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto demands.

"Kakashi-sensei isn't the only one who can access Kamui," Future Sakura says carefully.

"Yes I am."

"No, you're not."

"Four minutes," Hinata says, her tone steely in its urgency.

"Gah! This makes no sense!" Naruto yells in frustration. "Kakashi-sensei said he was the only one who could use it, don't you think he'd know that better than you guys?"

"Yeah, how could anyone else have access to it, since its his Sharingan that opens it?" Sakura wants to know. A beat later, she realizes she's just answered her own question. "Wait…"

"Unless there's someone with the same Sharingan," Sasuke says. He shoots a suspicious look at Kakashi. "You said he was dead, and that's how you got your Sharingan."

There's no other way he would have been allowed to keep it, Sasuke's father would have seen to it.

"He _is_ dead," Kakashi says in a clipped, cool tone. Still, he has gone very white beneath his mask.

"Well," Future Naruto says, rubbing at the back of his head in discomfort, "that's not _completely_ true…"

ナルト

Sarada feels the hold on her neck release and then a moment later she is tumbling forward, rolling several feet into the dirt and grass.

Whipping her head up, she watches in dismay as the portal closes behind her and her stomach twists. She's so overcome with dismay that for a full five seconds she doesn't notice the other person with her, on her hands and knees, retching into the grass.

In the distance, Sarada can see tents and horses, and can hear the clang of weapons. Probably she is somewhere in the past, but there's no telling _when_.

At first, she doesn't recognise the woman, can only see the inky black hair and ivory skin. But then she looks up, and Sarada takes in the cruel mouth and livid Sharingan, and she knows.

Teisōko.

 _But…how…?_

This woman is not the withered crone Sarada saw chained to a wall and trying to kill her parents. She looks like she can't be more than five or six years older than Sarada right now.

There's no time to think about it too hard.

Teisōko pushes herself to her feet, and Sarada tries to do the same, but her legs feel like jelly. She can only stare up at Teisōko in mute frustration, out of breath and shoulders heaving, and waiting for the next blow.

The older girl takes a step forward, then another, her Sharingan blazing in preparation for an attack.

"You're out of your time now, girl, and as good as dead," she sneers at Sarada, "but you have gotten in my way far too often today. Goodbye, little cousin."

Sarada braces herself, trying to predict where the attack will come from and how she should dodge, but then Teisōko's eyes abruptly turn dark.

"Now!" she growls, pressing a palm to her eye in frustration.

Sarada takes the opportunity to pull herself to her feet, and studies the other girl. Realisation dawns on her.

"I get it," she says quietly. "Whatever you did, wherever you've taken us, it drained you. And since my team and I got rid of the energy source that was powering you, you can't draw on it anymore. Maybe you even lost connection to it once you brought us through the portal." She clenches her fists. "That means you have a weakness now."

 _I still have the chakra to pull off jutsu. All she's got is taijutsu. I know Uncle Itachi said she was the pride of the Uchiha, but maybe I'll be lucky, and their standards were lower._

"I do not need a Sharingan to deal with a gnat like you," Teisōko growls, and shifts into a ready position. "Even if I did, it is just a matter of time before my chakra replenishes enough to move on. More than enough time to kill you."

"Are you sure about that?" Sarada challenges, easing into her own starting position.

"Try me."

 _Or maybe not…_

There's no more warning than that. The two girls charge at each other.

Sarada punches outward, fist connecting with Teisōko's jaw; the other girl's head flies to one side, and she uses the momentum to spin around and backhand Sarada, who staggers backward before recovering. They exchange a flurry of punches and blocks with equal force, before Sarada takes a wild swing, charging her fist with enough chakra that if she connects this time, her hand might go directly through the other woman's skull.

Teisōko ducks, then moves fluidly upward to lash out with a roundhouse kick. Sarada bends backward to avoid it, leaving her open to the next swing of Teisōko's leg, this time aimed at her face. She drops low, springs back up and kicks outward, the ball of her foot connecting with Teisōko hard enough to throw her backward.

In the moment she spends to recover, Sarada summons her Sharingan and casts a genjutsu to paralyse the other woman. Teisōko stills, and Sarada pulls out a kunai, vaulting forward.

 _Take out the eyes. Eyes first, and then I have to set her on fire—_

Before the kunai comes within an inch of her eyes, awareness flashes across Teisōko's face and she casts off the genjutsu. Her hands come up, grabbing Sarada's wrist and pressing her nails into the pressure point in the crease. Sarada yells in pain, her fingers forced to open and let go of the kunai.

Teisōko catches it with her other hand and immediately thrusts it toward Sarada's throat. It's only due to the Sharingan that Sarada is able to move her head in time, gaining only a sharp graze against her neck. She knees Teisōko in the abdomen and throws herself backward until they face each other anew.

Only this time Teisōko is armed.

 _Damn it. I messed up._

"Really, girl? I was the prodigy of my clan. Do you really expect a half-bred brat like you to get the better of me in battle?"

"Maybe not, but I'm going to try," Sarada shoots back.

They clash once more.

This time, Sarada doesn't try to save up her chakra, instead calling up two shadow clones to help her attack Teisōko. They slide forward to sweep the legs out from under her, but Teisōko darts forward, flipping in the air and pushing off from their backs with her palms. As she straightens, she snaps her heel downward toward Sarada's face in a move meant to break bone. Sarada catches the leg and goes to twist it at the knee, but Teisōko moves her body with the movement and kicks her other leg to hook around Sarada's neck.

Not wanting to have her neck broken, Sarada grabs Teisōko around the thigh before she can get a proper hold on her and flips her over her shoulder. The older girl somersaults through the air and lands on her feet, just as the clones come around for a second attack. Pushing off from the ground, Teisōko spins in midair, whipping her legs at their heads.

The clone vanish into clouds of dust, but Sarada uses their distraction to inhale deeply, summoning the fire from within and sending a concentrated jet of flame at the other girl.

To her consternation, Teisoko copies the jutsu, using her own _Katon_ to nullify Sarada's.

 _She's recovering her chakra too quickly!_

Sarada vaults forward, striking out with an elbow and then lashing out with two kicks. At the same time, she casts another genjutsu, this time to bring a thick mist around them. Hoping it will obscure her movements, she then uses a _Shunshin_ to get behind Teisōko and strike at her back with another kunai.

But Teisōko whips around at the last second, knocking the kunai aside with her own blade, and striking Sarada across the jaw. She reels backward, but doesn't let herself fall, keeping her eye on Teisōko as the other girl bounds toward her.

Sarada makes a fist, calls up her strength and sends a chakra infused punch at her attacker. Teisōko dodges out of the way and Sarada hits the ground, churning up giant chunks and debris.

Touching down on the ground with a knee and palm, Teisōko's eyes—the blood red of the Sharingan—narrow in speculation.

Obviously, she didn't expect that.

"That's not an Uchiha technique."

"That's right," Sarada says with a smirk. "And it's not something you can copy with the Sharingan." Teisōko's lip curls. "You might be better than me in a lot of ways, but I just need to hit you once and you're done."

 _And the more you use your Sharingan before it has time to fully recharge, the more tired you're going to get._

Teisōko's irises flit from side to side, as if she is doing some very quick thinking, and then she sneers at Sarada. Her Mangekyō Sharingan activates, and Sarada freezes as she tries to figure out if she's about to be blown up, and if so, what direction to head in.

But then instead of using her ability to speed up time, she instead opens another portal.

"No!" Sarada cries and throws herself forward, just catching hold of Teisōko as the portal closes.

The scene shifts, and Sarada's stomach rebels once more at the abrupt change. Teisōko uses the scant second to grip hold of Sarada and toss her over her shoulder and face first into a wall. Ignoring her lips splitting and the blinding pain of her nose smacking the wall, Sarada flips to one side, ready to catch the kunai Teisōko is about to bring down at her back.

Then the other girl staggers back with a cry, clutching her eyes. Blood drips down her face as her Sharingan vanishes.

 _She's tapped out again._

Before Sarada can capitalize on this, Teisōko takes off at a stumbling run.

"Damn it!"

Pausing only a moment to check her nose, which thankfully isn't broken, Sarada follows her. She can't let the other girl go far, because if Teisōko gets enough power back to open another portal, Sarada will be stuck in the…

 _Past?_

She thinks it is.

Her eyes catch flashes of her surroundings as she goes, and she easily recognises the sights of Konoha. She's home, in her own village, which puts her at an advantage because Teisōko doesn't know these streets like Sarada does. Except—

A massive explosion rocks the world, causing Sarada to stumble in her pursuit. To her shock, a building falls directly in front of her—crushed by the tail of a giant snake.

"What?!"

She has to duck out of the way as the tail sweeps further, taking out the next alleyway and buildings, and Sarada's brain stutters for a moment. The beast looms several storeys high, its hiss a deafening roar as it continues to demolish the building. In the distance, there are two others just like it.

 _Giant snakes in the village? Why are there giant snakes in the village?!_

Something tugs at her memory, and she distantly remembers a class back at the Academy, on the history of Konoha.

 _That's right. We studied this in class. There's only one time in the history of the village when giant snakes attacked the city!_

And it was the day the Third Hokage was killed.

 _Along with a lot of other people, and I'm going to be one of them if I don't catch up with Teisōko!_

Sarada can't waste any time. She has to find Teisōko and get out of here before she gets killed.

She runs in the same direction as the other Uchiha disappeared in, and as she flees past several roads, she can see shinobi in Suna hitae-ate fighting with Konoha-nin. There are screams in the distance, and though Sarada's instinct is to get out and help those people, she knows she can't get caught up—

Another explosion sends her reeling to the floor, and she pushes herself to her feet, clutching the wall of an alley for support.

She hears voices up ahead, and after a beat, sees a group of Sunanin materialise from the dust. They are knocking in doors and breaking windows, looking for women and children. They all appear to be empty, with the exception of the surplus supply store, which has a giant hole blown in the side of it.

 _Can't let them catch me. I don't have the strength or time to fight all of them._

Sarada turns, about to head in the other direction, when she catches movement from the corner of her eye. She refocuses, and then her jaw drops in dismay as she catches sight of Manako Inuzuka—about twenty years younger than Sarada has ever seen her. The demolition expert is struggling to stay standing despite severe bruises and bleeding across her entire right side. Evidently she was caught in whatever blast ruined the storefront.

The shinobi approach her and Sarada catches her grin, before the entire street suddenly erupts into flame.

Sarada watches as if in slow motion the way the explosives, hidden along the sides of the street, demolish a path toward the shinobi, all of whom are frozen by some sort of sealing circles beneath them. Manako, unable to move, simply watches the explosions rumbling toward her, a grim sort of triumph on her face.

"Manako!"

Sarada isn't aware of moving. One second, she is taking cover in the alley, the next she is slicing through the air from one location to another, throwing herself at the teenaged girl that will one day become one of the adults that helps raise her.

At the last moment, she uses a _Shunshin_ to move the two of them out of the wake of the explosions.

They tumble to one side in a plume of debris.

It is Sarada who recovers first, and quickly, rolling Manako over to check to make sure she is alive.

The girl groans and squints up at her. Her pupils are different sizes, probably a concussion, but something like recognition flashes across her face.

"Iz…Izumi…?" she whispers, and then a moment later, her eyes roll back, and she goes limp.

"No, don't—don't do that!" Sarada cries, because she can't stay and stabilise her. She's already done more than she should, has lost time finding Teisōko, but if she just leaves Manako here, what if a building collapses on her?

Indecision and fear paralyse her, as well as worries about changing the timelines. If she hasn't already.

"Hey, kid! What are you doing here, hey?" A Konoha jōnin appears beside her. "Everyone below chunin is supposed to be in the bunker!"

Sarada gapes up at the man, who looks exactly like—

"Konohamaru-sensei?"

 _Well, if he had sideburns…_

The man—she realises this must be the Arata Sarutobi that Kakashi mentioned earlier—gives her an anxious and frustrated look. "You've seen my son? I thought he was in the bunker!" He doesn't dart off to find him, though, instead going to lift Manako. "Come on, I'll get you both to safety."

But Sarada backs away. "I…I can't…I have to…"

There's no time for excuses though, especially since she can't think of anything. Instead the turns and runs off.

"Hey—hey kid—!"

She doesn't hear anymore, his voice lost in the sound of explosions and battle all around her.

Searching the winding alleyways will take forever, and so she braves the open air and possible death by giant snake to widen her search. With the Sharingan, she can search several lane-ways at a time.

It feels like forever before she regains her bearings and sees a flash of a familiar figure.

Teisōko is stumbling through a wide street where several Suna and Konoha shinobi are fighting. Houses crumble and streets cracks from the roiling earth, and Sarada watches Teisōko tensing her shoulders and clenching her fists. It looks like she's trying to summon up her chakra again, and Sarada knows she's calling up another time portal.

 _You are_ not _leaving me behind!_

As she aims her freefall for Teisoko, one of the giant snakes takes notice of her and snaps after her. Sarada can't help a reflexive scream as she aims, and feels the rush of air behind her as the massive maw almost catches her and—

She's through!

Just as Teisōko stumbles in from one side, Sarada dives through the other.

Somehow, they collide on the other side of the portal, rolling over each other until they come to a stop with Sarada on top.

The location is different once again, this time night, and lit only by torchlight. The sounds of battle surround them, screams and cries. Smoke fills the air, mixed with the scent of blood and burning flesh. There are men and women all around them, struggling with one another even as Sarada fights Teisōko, punching downward to knock the other girl out. Teisōko jerks her head to one side, before catching hold of Sarada's wrists in her own, and they struggle against one another.

Teisōko manages at last to shove Sarada off of her, and they both struggle to their feet, before attacking again. Punches and blocks, sweeping kicks and the occasional slash of a kunai.

 _Come on!_ Sarada snarls internally. _You have to be getting tired already! I know I am!_

Not far away from them, a teenager with red hair and wearing the Uzumaki clan emblem on her back battles with a wild-haired teen in Uchiha colours. The girl raises her fist, glowing with a chakra that Sarada is intimately familiar with, about to bring it down on the boy's face.

At that moment, Teisōko kicks Sarada the abdomen, the force of it sending her flying backward and into the Uzumaki girl, who overbalances and knocks into the boy she was fighting. The two of them go tumbling out of view in a flurry of armour and blades, and Sarada loses track of them.

She gasps for breath, trying to regain the wind that was knocked out of her, and her attention snaps back to Teisoko.

A beat later she has to duck as a giant shuriken flies through the air, nearly decapitating her _and_ Teisōko in its wake.

"Get us out of here!" Sarada demands.

Teisōko grins. "Why? There is such a very high chance you will get cut down by a Senju warrior while wearing that cursed fan on your back."

 _Right. This is the kind of world_ she _comes from. She has the advantage here._

"Why are you so desperate to destroy the Uchiha?" Sarada demands, throwing herself forward to clash with the other girl again. "Aren't they your family?"

"My jailors," Teisōko snarls, blocking the heel of Sarada's hand and using her momentum to spin her around. Sarada ducks down, going for a leg sweep, but misses.

"So you'll destroy countless generations of innocent people just get revenge on a few that hurt you?!"

"I am Uchiha. It is what we do!"

"I don't accept that!" Sarada yells, and by some miracle, she gets behind the older girl. She folds her right arm around Teisōko's neck, and presses her head with her left. Just a little bit of force and she can break it—

Teisōko snarls with effort and Sarada hears the dull roar of a portal being opened behind her. A beat later, Teisōko's head crashes into her face, causing her already swollen nose to explode in pain once again.

By instinct alone Sarada keeps a hold on the other girl, as they fly backward into another time. As the portal vanishes, her strength begins to fail, and Teisōko uses this opportunity to grasp her by the arm and swing her forward.

Sarada cries out as she hits the ground, flat on her back. She is paralysed in that moment, and can only watch in mute horror as Teisōko brandishes her kunai and uses both hands to plunge it down toward Sarada's throat.

つづく

* * *

 _Are you guys all ramped up yet?_

 _I know, Team 7s and Hinata were mostly doing the Talking no Jutsu, but it was important foundation for the next chapter. And Sarada, Sarada, Sarada…looks like you and Teisoko are going to cause a lot of problems throughout history…however are we going to get out of this?_ _But hey, you guys got a bunch of cameos ^_^_

 _Hint: I'm following Kishimoto's example on this one, but not in the way you would expect…_

 _Hee hee…see you next time._

 _栗_


	36. Chapter Thirty-One

**Author's Note:** As usual, unedited until I can get to it.

* * *

"No," Kakashi says, cold suffusing his entire body. This—after everything—is too much to believe. "He's dead. I watched him die, right after he…"

 _Right after he gave me his eye…_

His students are watching him with surprised and curiosity, while their future selves have expressions on their faces like they know exactly what he is thinking of. He must tell them the full story one day, because that's the only way…it can't be the _other_ thing that they're implying.

But Future Sakura's eyes soften sympathetically, and Future Naruto looks troubled, and Future Sasuke's face remains serious. It is to him that Kakashi looks for confirmation. He would not make light or lie about something to do with the Sharingan; Kakashi knows that much, even now.

Questions explode in his mind, and his heart clenches, the first thought ripping through him one of guilt: did he _leave_ Obito to die? Did he let Rin transplant his eye and leave him crushed and dying, without even a proper burial?

"Naruto…" Hinata says, warningly, the veins on her forehead thickening as she continues to stare into the distance. The future Hokage winces.

"We _don't_ have time for this," he declares. "Long story short, Kakashi-sensei, Obito didn't die in the war like you thought, but he was saved by Madara Uchiha—yeah, _that_ Madara Uchiha. And he messed up his head a bunch and turned him into an international criminal mastermind calling himself Tobi, and he's responsible for pretty much every bad thing that happened in Konoha ever. But then you guys reunited, you got through to him, and he switched sides and helped all of us save the world."

There's beat a loaded silence.

Future Sasuke's right eye twitches, and Hinata sighs.

"Naruto…" Future Sakura growls through gritted teeth, clenching a fist. "You're supposed to be an adult now! You're not supposed to just reveal information like that, especially at a time like this!"

"Uh…sorry…"

"Wow, you really never change, do you?" Sakura says to Naruto.

"Tch," Sasuke nods his head in agreement.

"Oi!"

"At any rate," Future Sasuke says, "Kamui presents a problem to us, if Tobi is currently using it. Whatever time he is in, whether it's yours or even a little further on. If he sees anyone in there who shouldn't be, he might start investigating, which we can't allow." He levels a meaningful stare at Kakashi. "Beyond that difficulty, this information has nothing to do with the current you. Put it out of your mind."

And oh, the irony of his one-track minded student telling him to put something out of his mind!

Kakashi is tempted to ignore the directive, but at that moment Hinata murmurs, "Three minutes."

Time is too short for what he wants to know, and every word is another second wasted. If they survive this, if he still wants to know—if he can _handle_ knowing, even for the short time he can remember it, he will ask. But for now, he cannot afford to divide his focus. His students—present and future—are depending on him.

"Then Kamui will have to be an absolute last resort," he says, because even a gambit with a high percentage of failure and possibility of running into…someone who shouldn't be there is better than outright failure.

Future Naruto says. "Then I've got a plan!"

"I hope it's better than your last one," Boruto grumbles. "That got you frozen in time, remember?"

"Oi! Show your father some respect!"

"When you earn it."

 _"Both of you knock it off! This is not the time!"_

Kakashi half-expects it to be Future-Sakura intervening, but to his absolute shock, Hinata has turned to bear down on her husband and son, her chakra flaring in warning and a vein in her temple throbbing which has nothing to do with her Byakugan. Instantly, Future Naruto and Boruto shrink.

"Scary…"

Naruto's jaw drops. _Holy crap. Who knew Hinata had it in her?_

"R-right!" Future Naruto swallows, and refocuses. "Okay, here's what we do—Hinata, keep watching that wave. Let me know when it's within thirty seconds of reaching us." His wife nods, back to her former calm. "Sasuke will look for Sarada, and Sakura and I will back him up. Kakashi-sensei, you be at the ready with Kamui and Konohamaru will help you get everyone else through. But like you said, it's a last resort."

"But what if you get trapped here?" Boruto asks.

"Are you telling me you expect the legendary Team 7 to fail?" his father demands. "We'll deal with it."

Sasuke and Sakura exchange surprised glances.

 _Legendary?_

"What about us?" Naruto interrupts, missing the byplay. "What can we do?"

"Whatever you did to help Kakashi bring you here if he's can't himself. He's not as weakened as he was before, so using that ability shouldn't cause as much damage as before but…just in case, stay close to him," Future Naruto tells him. "Boruto, Mitsuki—you too."

His son and his past self groan in unison, but neither argues, perhaps sensing the immense danger and knowing they don't have the requisite skills to combat it.

"This is so bogus," Naruto mutters to himself. "I can't believe after everything we have to just…stand here."

"Can _you_ manipulate the time-space continuum?" Kakashi challenges, eyes pinned to the future Team 7. "No? Then keep quiet."

Future Sasuke places himself directly in front of the spot where Sarada disappeared and braces himself against the ground with one knee. It's as if he is getting ready to spring at a moment's notice. His former teammates take up positions behind him—Sakura on his right, Naruto on his left—half-turned inward and half-facing the same direction. Their hands rest on his shoulders.

"Sasuke? Sakura?" Future Naruto asks.

"Ready when you are," Future Sakura says.

Future Sasuke doesn't say anything. Instead, he activates his Rinnegan, and a crackling seam of appears in the open air, and then widens into a portal. Unlike Teisoko's however it is just a swirling vortex of energy, with no window through to another place…or time.

 _Because he doesn't know where he going,_ Kakashi realises.

On Future Sasuke's right side, his wife focusses as well, and the thick black design they saw earlier returns, spiderwebbing across her face and down her neck and arm.

 _It's the same as before,_ Sasuke realizes, watching his future self wince as if he's suddenly experiencing a strong electric shock. _She's stabilizing him?. But I don't understand…how?_

Future Sasuke growls with effort, and sweat breaks out on his forehead. Through some supreme effort, a tiny burst of colour grows through the middle. Slowly, it grows, like a hole in a piece of fabric being widened through wear.

"A bit harder than just jumping through dimensions, huh?" Future Naruto jokes, and then closes his eyes in concentration. When he opens them, they have become orange slits. A beat later, his entire form erupts into a flaming pyre of light.

"What—?!" Naruto cries.

"No way…" Sasuke chokes.

"… _Naruto_?" Sakura squeaks out.

Even Kakashi is gazing at the future Naruto in mild disbelief; he expected something like this, of course, but seeing it first hand is something else entirely.

 _I knew a jinchūriki that was in sync with the Tailed Beast was a powerful force, but this…_

"It's not that impressive," Boruto says casually, but his eyes light in excitement at the sight of his father. "Uncle Sasuke is way cooler…"

The past version of the man in question is too amazed by the sight in front of him to hear the comment. Raw power radiates from around the adult Team 7, the force of it lifting dust and debris into the air, and sending a hot wind barrelling through the tiny cavern.

"As expected from them," Mitsuki remarks with the air of an uninvolved observer, "a flawless collaboration technique."

 _Their chakra…!_ Sasuke thinks with awe.

Three columns of power, roaring like bonfires in front of him. He expected it from his future self—he's seen the older version of him do inexplicable things today, a testament to how strong he will be one day. And with Naruto—now that he knows the secret, that his endless supply of chakra comes from the Nine-Tails within him—this tower of light, while shocking, at least makes sense.

But Sakura…

 _That I never expected._

" _Yosh_! We're through!" Future Naruto yells in triumph.

"Celebrate when we have Sarada!" Future Sakura snaps.

"Ah, sorry, Sakura…"

"Stop talking…Naruto," Future Sasuke says. "It's skewing…my concentration."

"Then I guess your concentration sucks, doesn't it?"

 _They're…they're_ bantering?! Sakura wonders in shock. _Who_ are _these people?_

"Two minutes," Hinata warns.

"Okay, I'm going to try to find Kakashi-sensei's marker," Naruto says. "Sasuke, get ready!"

Future Sasuke doesn't reply, his every focus concentrated on keeping the window open. Inside the portal, they get a glimpse of a grassy field, reeds whispering in the wind. Nothing.

"Next!" Future Naruto shouts, and the scene changes.

A grey, distant shoreline—"Next!"—a dark forest, with a giant red spider looming in front of them, pincers twitching angrily—"Next!"—A vicious thunderstorm, hail the size of fists scarring the landscape—"Next!"—A rush of water that bursts out, drenching all of them, before it closes quickly. "Next!"

 _The bottom or a river?_ Sakura wonders.

They are flipping through the windows so fast, burrowing further into the myriad dimensions, that eventually it becomes too dizzying to get a look at what's beyond the windows.

"I don't get it," Sakura murmurs. "I thought it was just a portal in time. But these can't all be the same location in different time periods. The terrain is completely different!"

"It's no longer just time that's displaced, remember?" Hinata reminds her. "Nothing is where it is supposed to be."

"Then how are they gonna find Sarada?" Naruto demands. "A tiny marker like Kakashi left on her must be like…like looking for a needle in a haystack!"

"You should have more faith in yourself, Naruto," she says softly.

He makes a face.

He can't believe _Hinata_ is the one telling him such a thing.

Future Sasuke makes a sudden noise of pain, his balance wavering a moment.

 _The strain is getting to him,_ Kakashi realises, taking a step forward. He doesn't know what he's going to do, but—

Red chakra suddenly bubbles forward, spreading from Future Naruto to the man kneeling before him. Switching hands, his left now braced on Future Sasuke's shoulder, he reaches out with his right to take hold of Sakura's. The chakra engulfs her as well, travelling down her hand to meet Sasuke's right shoulder.

 _It's a chakra circuit_ … _but that red energy! I've seen that before…_

"What's he doing?" Sakura asks.

"That's the Nine Tails Healing Cloak," Konohamaru explains. "It replenishes chakra and heals the physical body at a constant rate."

"And he has is dispersed around all three of them," Kakashi realises, "so there will be absolutely no break in the stream of chakra keeping the portal open."

Konohamaru nods. "Any faltering at this juncture would be fatal to the space-time user."

"Sasuke…" Sakura murmurs, clenching her fists to her heart as she watches the adult version of him strain.

Sasuke's eyes flick to hers, noting the anguished worry there, and he glances back to the sight in front of them. His hand drifts to one side, and catches hold of hers. He hears her gasp—can sense her looking at him in surprise—but he keeps his eyes rivetted on the windows that open and close almost faster than his Sharingan can catch sight of.

 _It's just to make sure when the time comes, she doesn't go running to help him._

Because that's exactly the type of thing she would do, too.

"Next!" A battlefield rages before them, men and women in samurai gear. "Next!" A bunch of buildings crumble and shake, men in Suna headgear flitting past. "Next!" A volcano erupts in the distance, lava rushing toward them—

"Oi! Sasuke! Go back to that last one!" Future Naruto shouts. "I've got a beat on her!"

Future Sasuke strains further, snarling in effort. The window retracts before a spurt of molten rock and burst through, and then it's back to the buildings. People flee in the distance, and something huge and slides by.

 _No…not sliding._ Slithering _,_ Kakashi realises, eyes widening. _This is…Konoha! From that day…!_

If she landed there in the middle of such a dangerous time, she might end up dead. Or worse, she could change something not meant to be changed.

Future Naruto nods at the wall in front of him in the distance. "It's faint, but her trail goes that way!"

"There must be another seam," Future Sakura says. "Sasuke, can you…?"

"Don't ask…useless questions," her husband mutters through gritted teeth, and for the first time since they met, Sasuke can see that some part of him still remains in the contradictory person before him.

Despite his confident words, blood is seeping down his face, and not just from his eyes. From his mouth and nose, and even his ears, trails of red trail across his cheeks.

"Blood vessels," Kakashi says with dismay.

"The strain of moving through time as well as space is too much for his body, even with Naruto's energy keeping him going," Konohamaru agrees grimly.

 _None of it's any use if he boils his brain before he makes it through!_ Sasuke thinks, gritting his teeth. _Is this how I finally die?_

"One minute," Hinata cries, urgent.

At that moment, Future Sakura gives a yell and tightens her grip on her husband's shoulder, as well as Future Naruto's arm. The black ribbons stretch beyond her, encircling the bodies of both Naruto and Sasuke. A faint blue light sizzles across her skin.

 _The energy…reminds me of Gai's,_ Kakashi thinks. _But it's not a variation of the Eight Gates. So what…?_

"Uh oh," Konohamaru says. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes," Hinata says quietly, her fists clenching. "It's the jutsu she developed. The one Tsunade forbade her from ever using again."

Sakura glances up, eyes wide. "Why?"

"It ties the life force of the user to the person they are healing," Konohamaru explains. "In the case of serious wounds, exsanguination or even the possibility of brain death, the healer's body functions as an extension. A sort of bypass."

"So, if Naruto or Sasuke put more strain on their bodies than they can handle," Kakashi says, thinking of burst blood vessels or even inner organs, "she keeps them functioning."

"More than that. She takes on the damage."

At his words, the blood seems to stop trailing from Future Sasuke's face, but similar trails begin to appear on Future Sakura's.

"The drawback is it can't be maintained for more than a few minutes because of the harm it does to the healer—even one with _Sōzō Saisei_. And even with her drawing on Naruto's chakra like she is—" The ribbons connecting Future Sakura's arm to Future Naruto's seem to constrict, "—even her body has a limit. And if she dies, the way they're all connected, they die too."

"What?!" Naruto demands, whipping his head back and forth between the future Team 7 and Konohamaru. "But if that's true, why would she use such a dangerous jutsu, if it's just going to kill them all!"

 _And why would they go along with it?_ Sasuke wonders.

A memory needles at him, a day long ago, with Naruto tied to a post and bento boxes spilled on the ground. Lightning crashing and Kakashi sensei looming over them, and Sakura terrified, but insistent.

 _"The three of us are one!"_

Sasuke's eyes widen. _Is this really…how far that goes…?_

"We're close," Future Naruto says, panting. "Almost…there…"

His teammates are breathing hard as well, although in Future Sakura's case, there is a wet rasp to it, like blood is filling her lungs.

 _She's not going to make it!_ Sakura worries.

"Naruto! Thirty seconds!" Hinata cries, and then orders, "Kakashi-sensei—open Kamui. We need to get the children out of here!"

He nods and braces himself, summoning up whatever chakra he needs and trying not to think of the fact he's leaving his students future selves to die in such a display of self-sacrifice.

Future Naruto yells. "There!"

Future Sasuke gives a wordless yell of effort then, one echoed by his wife, and the vortex pulses inward, like a pupil constricting, and then dilates outward. The energy becomes blinding, and for an eternal moment, sound and sensation vanishes, and everything is obscured by violet light.

ナルト

Sarada watches the kunai's downward path as if in slow motion, her eyes capturing every incremental movement as she tries to regain mastery over her limbs. Realising there's no other option, she summons up a genjutsu at the last second.

It isn't enough to stop her, only slow her down a little, but the momentary lapse is enough to give Sarada the chance to inch away.

The kunai slams into the dirt centimetres from her ear.

 _That was close!_

And it's not over.

Teisoko rallies right away, not allowing the miss with the kunai to be the end. Pulling back to gain momentum, she slams her foot downward, intending to crush Sarada's face with her heel.

This time, Sarada finds the strength the roll out from under her, scraping knees against hard packed earth in her quest to get upright. She doesn't know where they landed, but it's just a matter of time before Teisoko has the strength to move through time again.

 _Have to knock her out beforehand! There are only so many times I can jump after her!_

Both of them recovered, they charge once more.

Sarada, her arms stretched out behind her back, uses one hand to make signs, calling up two more Shadow Clones. They run ahead of her, zigzagging in front of one and another on their way to Teisoko, drawing her attention.

As the other girl disperses them with two targeted kicks, Sarada throws herself forward, intending to capitalize on the moment before Teisoko gets her bearings. Chakra gathers in her fist and she throws it down, intending to cave in her opponent's skull.

Teisoko is thrown backward, but not from the blow; at the last moment, she catches the movement and bends herself backward, flipping over. Her feet barely touch the floor before she's darting back at Sarada, who uses the momentum from her missing punch to spin herself around, pivoting on her left foot and kicking at the other girl's face. Teisoko catches it her foot, and Sarada folds in the air, whipping her right her left foot forward for a second blow.

Blocking, Teisoko ducks, and then kicks upward, the ball of her foot knocking into Sarada's side.

Sarada chokes, pain radiating through her body, and she falls in a heap on the ground. Blood spills over her lips and she struggles to breathe.

 _Broken rib…or two…_

If she didn't have one before, she definitely has one now.

"Your eagerness will be the end of you," Teisoko tells her, her teeth bared in a smile. "What was it you said before? 'I just need to hit you once and you're done'?"

 _She's right. She might not have my brute strength or chakra control, but she doesn't need that to be dangerous. Focus!_

Teisoko makes another beeline for her and Sarada winces, for the moment unable to summon the strength she needs to meet the blow. Instead, she grabs a handful of shuriken and whips them at the oncoming enemy, aiming for the eyes and heart.

Somehow, Teisoko slips between the incoming blades, tucks and rolls as she lands, and then jumps forward to smash her knee into the side of Sarada's head.

Again, she goes skidding across the ground, stars spinning in her eyes and around her head, and it's a struggle to stand.

Teisoko smirks at her.

She waves a hand, opening a window beside her.

 _I don't think so!_

Sarada's fingers flare out, streams of wire gleaming in the air. With a quick movement of her wrist, the wires swirl around Teisoko's right arm. Just before pulling it taught, Sarada manoeuvres her left art into the loops, slamming their forearms and wrists together.

The force of it sends them both through the next portal.

"Try leaving me behind _now_ ," she growls, glaring at the girl now so far within her range. Teisoko gives an angry curse, and tries to shoulder at Sarada, bringing her free hand around to swipe at her with a kunai. Sarada catches it with her own, deflecting.

The girls tumble to the ground, rolling over and over, each trying to get the upper hand, scraping knees to get upright again. Twice Teisoko reverses her kunai, catching it on a finger, and tries to make hand signs with her free hand, and Sarada is barely able to stop her with punishing swipes of her blade.

 _Of course she knows one-handed signing—because nothing's ever easy, is it?!_

Of course, that goes two ways, doesn't it? Sarada should be able to do that, but she is hesitant. Teisoko is faster than her, if Sarada left an opening even for a second—

Portals open and close all around them as they struggle, and they move through them almost as an afterthought.

 _Does her Sharingan get stronger as we go back in time?_ Sarada wonders. _Or is she summoning the strength from somewhere else?_

Countless battlefields pass by them as they continue their struggle. They wrestle with one another through a ferocious gale of sleet and hail, their feet sliding against the slippery ground with no means grabbing hold, all the while trying to push the other one into a precarious position.

It comes to a head the time after they land in the middle of a river, and are nearly drowned before Teisoko opens a portal.

They tumble out onto a hard, dry surface, and Sarada has a brief impression of a cliff behind her and the sun setting in the distance, when pain sears through her arm.

Teisoko has used the moment of recovery from the river to slice her kunai deeply into Sarada's arm, tearing it upwards; the wire holding them together snaps, and the other girl emits a triumphant laugh.

But through her pain, Sarada sees an opening.

With her own kunai, she slices upward, sending blood spraying and Teisoko screaming to the ground. Blood drips down the left side of her face where her eye used to be.

 _That's one down…do I have it in me to get the other one, after all of this?_ Sarada wonders, panting.

They stay like that for a spell, both gasping for breath and sense, and trying to recover, to see through the pain. Sarada's left arm is useless, the tendons cut; Teisoko's vision reduced by half.

She looks up, rage and hatred blazing from her one remaining eye. "Little half-breed _bitch_."

And she vaults forward, right hand gripping her bloodied kunai with white-knuckled fingers.

Sarada's eyes widen and she tries to prepare for the attack, but Teisoko is too close within her range. There's no time to reach for another kunai, no time to dodge. Good for Teisoko, bad for her—except…except there could be a way!

Only one thing left, then.

Summoning all remaining chakra into her right hand, she throws herself forward as well. Teisoko has left one opening, one that she won't be able to do anything about until it's too late.

" _Sha…nnaro_!" Sarada bites out, more a gasp than a battle cry at this point, and lets her fist fly.

Skin parts, bone and muscle split aside, and a liquid heat passes over her hand. At the same time, searing pain punches into Sarada's abdomen, and blood coats the back of her throat and her mouth.

They are both stationary for a moment, staring at one another.

Teisoko's expression—a twisted, triumphant smile—is frozen on her face, and her hand remains tightly clasped around the kunai sticking out of Sarada's abdomen. Blood drips heavily onto the ground between them.

But it's not all Sarada's.

The same red substance coats her entire forearm, all the way to her hand—which has burst through Teisoko's chest completely and come out the other end. Her fingers shake, clenched in a grasping motion as her brain tries to register what just happened.

Teisoko's remaining eye is dull in death, and as her body slumps forward, Sarada uses her left hand to push the body away. She shudders at the feel of her skin passing through internal organs and bone. Then, carefully, with movements that feel far too slow to her, she pries the cooling fingers from around the kunai in her gut.

The body slides onto the floor and doesn't move again.

 _I…I did it…?_ She blinks down at Teisoko's unmoving form, scarce able to believe it. _I did! But…not without a cost…_

Her knees suddenly feel a lot weaker, and she wants to sit down, but can't get her muscles to cooperated. She staggers back, her upper body feeling heavier than ever, forcing her backward, and she can't regain her balance.

She falls backward, and has a fleeting impression of the edge of the cliff, and then she's plummeting downward.

 _This is exactly how everything started,_ Sarada reflect as her eyes drift closed. _I was falling…_

She smiles to herself.

After all of if, everything turned out for the best. She was able to learn more about her parents, just as she always wished. She was able to see the legendary Team 7 in action—and though they were utterly foolish and far less impressive than they are in her time, they always had that…spark.

She's thankful she got to see it, even if it was all fleeting.

With Teisoko gone, history is safe, which means it shouldn't be hard for them to get everything back to the way it's supposed to be. Papa will see to that, she knows.

They'll be sad about her death—Mama especially—but because of Sarada, they will have a future. They will have the option of healing from it one day, so she can't regret that.

After all of it…the people most precious to her will be alright.

つづく

* * *

 _*ducks head* Please don't kill me! This is the last big cliff-hanger, I promise!_

 _Anyhow, hopefully I managed to convey the 'Genin-Team-7-Watching-Future-Selves-Be-Awesome' angle that a lot of people were hoping to see. Also, Sakura's jutsu is one of my own invention, and I'll probably go into deeper depth explaining it in a different story. As to why hers and Naruto's healing abilities weren't enough on their own, none of them are entirely built for time-travel, even Sasuke. The strain of moving through one time—let alone as many as they did here—is supremely taxing, so they definitely needed to pool their talents on this one._

栗


	37. Chapter Thirty-Two

**Author's Note:** Updating now because I have a headache and might not have the energy to do it at 9. As usual, unedited until I can get to it.

Also, I'm not _saying_ you should be familiar with my story **Samsara** for this chapter, but it will offer some perspective/Easter eggs.

* * *

When Sarada wakes, she is floating.

It takes longer than she would like to force her eyes open, and when she does she feels only confusion. The world around her is lit by a dim violet light, but everything beyond it is a black, overwhelming darkness.

 _Am I…am I dead…?_

She remembers a knife and then falling, and then…nothing.

 _I must have hit the ground. I have to be dead._

Slowly, she sits up, frowning at the water surrounding her, rippling outward. Somehow, it doesn't soak her skin or clothes, almost like it's not _really_ water but someone's abstract concept of it. As she gets to her feet, it falls away from her, leaving no trace of it beyond the sensation of silken sheet sliding away.

The air suddenly feels heavy, and she tenses. Whirling around, she is shocked to see Teisōko standing beside her, also looking utterly unharmed.

 _No! She should be dead! I_ felt _her die…!_

The other girl looks as if she is as confused as Sarada, but it lasts less time.

"You!" she hisses, and lunges, eyes narrowed and palm flat for a blow to the throat.

Sarada braces her feet in the ankle length water, hoping she won't slip, and prepares for the incoming blow. Which is why she is shocked as the other girl is suddenly stumbling into the water behind her with an ungainly splash.

 _Did she…miss? No, that's not it. She went right through!_

"What?" Sarada whispers, staring down at her hands. They seem solid enough to her, but…

"Fighting one another is useless," a cool voice says, echoing within the vast expanse of distant black. "Your minds and souls are beyond your physical bodies."

Sarada whips around to face the owner of the voice, and Teisōko jumps to her feet as well, as if expecting an attack. Neither of them is quiet expecting the sight before them.

A woman and a man stand before them, having appeared out of nowhere. The woman is petite, with grey eyes and dark skin, dressed in pale colours but for a blood red obi tied in the front. Sloe black hair is arranged in a complicated headpiece, and a pink cherry blossom _kanzashi_ that look very similar to one that Sarada's mother has.

 _Maybe my mind is compensating?_ Sarada wonders, but when she studies the man, she decides she would never have been able to imagine him.

Beside the woman, he is much taller, and unsmiling beneath dark, wild hair. Somehow, he looms like a shadow even though he wears all white. Six _magatama_ border his robe, reminding her of giant versions of a Sharingan's _tomoe_. And speaking of a Sharingan…

 _He has it! And it looks_ exactly _like Papa's!_

"Who are you?" Teisōko demands, getting to her feet to face the strangers. Sarada would like to ask the same thing, but something stops her.

 _There's something…about these two…_

The man looks down his nose at Teisōko. "I was, I am, I will be the grasping, devouring shadow of despair."

"I was, I am, I will be the given sacrifice to bring about hope," the woman intones.

"We are the avatars of time and space, though the faces we have chosen are borrowed."

"We have taken forms you can grasp so that we can speak, though it limits us."

"We can no longer see the consequences of what it to come and can only offer counsel."

"But that…" Sarada begins, "that doesn't answer. _Who_ are you?"

"Don't you know, little one?" the woman asks her with a motherly smile. "Did your Papa never tell you our story?"

Sarada tenses, and a memory surfaces from so long ago she had forgotten until now, her father's voice washing over her.

 _"…Indra was wounded in battle and used the last of his strength to bring himself far away from Asura and his father. He found himself lying on a shore in a distant land, weakened and unable to heal himself. It seemed, for a time, that he was meant to die."_

 _"Did he die, Papa?"_

 _"No. He was found one day by a very young girl with a kind heart, who took pity on him."_

 _"What was her name?"_

 _"…Shachi."_

Sarada's eyes widen. "Then you're…!"

"The progenitors of the Uchiha," Teisōko says, her fists clenching. Rage and hatred spark in her eyes, but being insubstantial, there is nothing she can do about it.

 _Not that she could, anyway,_ Sarada thinks vaguely, staring up at the tall man with renewed unease. The stories about _him_ are terrifying, and she can see why when he levels a cold glance at Teisōko.

"By your actions, you have destabilized time," he says flatly. "It ought to have corrected itself, the way most time loops do, however your battle broke through many times and caused more damage than expected."

"Everything is unravelling," the female avatar—or, Shachi—laments. "All of time and space will soon cease to exist, if not for you two. The forces of Hope—"

"—and Despair."

"I don't understand," Sarada says. It's the second time they've used those words, giving them some reverence that she can't parse.

"Every living creature has a destiny that contains infinite possibilities. Those have been all but erased now."

"Your presence outside of your time frayed the web of time; travelling through so many, you might as well have cut the threads completely," Indra continues. "You must both make a choice, which will determine the fate of this world and where you go from here."

"You mean we're not dead yet?" Sarada questions, something like hope flaring in her stomach.

"You are beyond the state of life or death," Shachi tells her. "For now. But your choices may change that."

"Choices?"

"Will you walk the Path of Needles, or the Path of Thorns?" Indra asks.

Teisōko sneers. "Is that meant to be a riddle?"

"These are the paths that remain to you both," Shachi explains. "But know that even if you choose to walk the same path, your eventual fate will not necessarily be the same."

"You may also abstain," Indra says, "but then you will remain in this realm for eternity, never able to move on." He frowns. "I do not recommend that option."

Shachi's expression is sad and she bows her head.

"This is nonsense," Teisōko spits out. "I will not remain a prisoner here! Death or no, I intend to be free." She takes a step forward, bearing her teeth at them. "I have suffered under too many needles in my life. A thorn's pain is fleeting."

Indra studies her. "Is that your choice?"

"Yes," she says, resolute. "I will walk the Path of Thorns."

"So be it," Shachi says gravely.

Indra approaches Teisōko, his face unreadable, while she glares up at him. Then, he nods.

"You will gain what you desire," he tells her. "The pain you have lived with for so long will be at an end."

Then, he suddenly reaches out, and his hand goes right through her forehead. Unlike earlier, when Teisōko passed through Sarada harmlessly, his action brings with it pain. Teisōko's eyes go wide and she screams, a shrill, agonized sounds that has Sarada clapping her hands over her ears.

Indra appears unmoved by her distress, because he only draws back after several long drawn out seconds, his movements unconcerned and languid. In his hand, he cups something gleaming, red and insubstantial. It looks a little like a Sharingan, but Sarada can't be sure.

As soon as Indra steps back, Teisōko—empty-eyed and limp—falls to her knees. An instant later, she vanishes completely.

"What just happened?!" Sarada demands. She doesn't care about the other woman—she's been trying the entire day to kill her—but her fate suggests Sarada's future might not fare much better.

"She went on," Shachi tells her gravely.

"Went on? Where is 'went on'?"

"This we cannot say," Indra tells her, studying his hand; whatever he took from Teisōko gleams from within his fingers. "Our knowledge is limited by these forms."

"Her suffering was momentary," Shachi tells her. "Will you choose the same?"

Chills reverberate up Sarada's spine, and she takes a step back.

 _Choose the same? And end up…just disappearing?_

The avatars are watching her expectantly, and she swallows nervously. If only she could have more time to think about it. Of course, she could always choose to stay here, then she will have an _eternity_ of time to think.

"Can you…can you give me a hint about my choices?" she asks tentatively.

Shachi looks almost amused. "There is not much that we can see. These forms are limited."

"But is there's _anything_ you can tell me?"

"The other one was not given a choice," Indra points out.

"The other one did not think to ask," Shachi replies serenely. "Impulsive decisions are a quality the Uchiha have always had. Too often it has been the source of their undoing."

This time something like guilt flashes across Indra's face, but it happens so fast that Sarada isn't sure if that's what she actually saw.

" _Hn_." The man folds his arms, but he doesn't argue. Then he closes his eyes, and concentrates. After a beat, he says, "The timeline remains clouded. I see stone faces sundered and only the Wielder of the Pure Eye standing between salvation and the end of an era."

"Two pillars crumble," Shachi adds. "Sun and Moon vanish, and the Earth is shrouded in darkness."

Sarada's mouth goes dry.

 _That didn't answer my question at all! It's just vague words and ambiguous forecasting!_

"You're not going to tell me _which_ path leads to all that, I'm guessing?" she manages with a pained smile.

"We do not know," Shachi says. "We are—"

"Limited, I know," Sarada sighs. She thinks it might have been better _not_ to have gotten that hint. At least she would have felt less pressure.

 _Alright, so…Path of Needles or Path of Thorns…_

As painful as Teisoko's end looked, it might be a relief after everything Sarada has gone through today. It's a tempting thought, to just be _finished._ As Teisōko said, a prick of a thorn is nothing.

Then again, the avatars said she might not end up with the same fate as Teisōko even if she chose the same option. What if her fate is destined to be worse? What if instead of 'going on', she's just erased from everything completely? What if 'going on' _means_ being erased from everything?

And beyond that—though she's exhausted to her very soul, her decision cannot just be about her. It concerns time. Either everything will become completely unravelled and vanish, or there's something bad coming in the future.

 _Assuming their predictions are literal and not just speculation,_ Sarada muses. _They said themselves they can't see everything. That could be part of a larger picture. Think! Path of Needles or Path of Thorns!_

Neither sound like pleasant options. It's natural to think only of the damage they might both do, but what if she considers other qualities?

 _Thorns protect,_ Sarada thinks. _They keep flowers from being eaten or destroyed. And needles…well, needles can be used as weapons. So, one of them defends, the other attacks? No. Wait, needles have_ another _function!_

She is the daughter of a medic, after all, and has seen first hand the good that needles can do. They are used to give people life-saving cures, to transfer blood or chakra, to mend flesh as well as fabric.

 _Like maybe…the fabric of time_? Sarada wonders. _It_ can't _be that easy!_

She wants nothing more than to heal the timeline from the damage that's been caused, and it's tempting to choose the option that is in line with the metaphor. But then again…

 _Needles are as bad as thorns, because once they've punched a hole in something, the hole stays there. At least in terms of fabric. If it's skin, I suppose the skin heals over. But then, the same can be said for a wound from thorns—_

"Ugh!"

Her eyes clench shut, and her hands ball into fists, frustration and fear surging through her.

With every further thought, she gets drawn further into a study of riddle and wordplay. Trying to see beyond the meaning of the two words is paralysing her here. Perhaps she is destined to stay her forever after all…

 _No!_ Sarada decides, her eyes snapping open. _No, I will_ not _stay here! If there's even a_ chance _of making sure Mama and Papa, and their past selves, and everyone have a future, I have to make a choice._

It seems she is going to have to take a page out of Boruto's book and just go with instinct.

"Alright," she says, squaring her shoulders and taking a step forward. She fixes Indra with a defiant look, not quite as fierce as Teisoko's, but still somewhat insolent. "I've made my choice."

"Speak it, then."

"I choose—"

ナルト

There is nothing but white in Sarada's field of vision, and a splitting pain in her forehead. Someone's voice—someone she should recognise—echoes in her mind.

 _You walk with gods, little one. Mind your step._

Awareness returns to her then, the feel of air rushing past her and her eyes spring open. She stares up in dismay at the cliff that is getting steadily further away from her, her right hand clawing at it in futile desperation.

Her body begins to flip in the air, and she's already been here before, hasn't she? Only this time, her reactions are dulled from the lingering unconsciousness, and the ground is getting closer and closer.

" _Sarada!"_

Almost the instant she hears her name, something seizes her hand in a strong hold.

Blinking up in shock, she stares at the swirling portal in front of her, the violet chakra mingling with orange and green fire. She's hanging below the rip in the sky and can't see beyond the portal, but the hand holding hers is unquestionably her father's.

"Papa!" she calls in amazement and relief.

"You have to…haul yourself up," he shouts to her, and she hears a strain in his voice. It's as if he is in great pain. "We're already using…everything we have…to keep the portal open."

Her eyes flick to the swirling flame, and notes with concern that it seems to pulsate, growing smaller one minute, before widening again. Each time it happens, the diameter shrinks.

"I'll…I'll try!" Sarada says, although even as she does, she feels weakness disperse over her entire body. She's already put her body through so much today, she doesn't know if she has the strength for this. With her other arm hanging uselessly by her side, and the kunai still buried in her gut, pulling herself up the length of his arm seems impossible.

"Hold on, Sarada!" she hears Boruto yell from somewhere beyond the rushing sound of the portal.

A half-second later, his father's past-self adds, "Come on, Sarada! You can do it!"

"Yeah, Sarada! Come on!" the past Sakura calls.

"Don't you dare give up!"

Her head snaps upward at the order from the young Sasuke Uchiha—the repressed, stubborn boy who has been avoiding acknowledging any connection to her all day—and resolve floods through her.

 _I_ won't _give up!_

Gritting her teeth, she strains upward, throwing her energy into the most difficult one-handed pull-up ever. Her joints scream, and her bones shake, and she concentrates all of her chakra to her hand. She has to be careful, not wanting to accidentally shatter the bones in her father's arm or disintegrate her own muscles from the force.

There's no time to inch her way up with her fingers and so, with a final wordless scream, she swings herself until she can get the momentum to throw herself _up._

Flying upward, she has a vague sense of colours and shapes before her, coalescing into familiar figures.

Papa with his arm out to her, Mama and Uncle Naruto on either side of him, their Byakugō and Senjutsu respectively activated, and their hands on his shoulders. In the background, their past selves and Sarada's team watch anxiously.

The portal is closing faster now, and Sarada lingers for a moment in the air, weightless and completely conscious that if she doesn't grab hold of her father's upper arm at _just_ the right moment, she's done for—a stain on the ground, left to rot somewhere in the past.

She reaches out—

And misses.

Sarada inhales in disbelieving desperation, sensing the exact moment when her body begins to shift from its upward current to the pressure of gravity. There are cries of disbelief from her loved ones—

And then, out of nowhere, two arms thrust through the portal and wrap around her—several times over.

 _I know these arms!_ Sarada thinks with giddy relief, eyes snapping through the portal to stare at her teammate.

Sarada doesn't have long to take notice of him—expression of concentration on his face, and a strange blue chakra crackling over the surface of his skin—before she is being pulled forward into the swirling, violet vortex.

She is back in the dank underground cavern again.

"Now!" she hears Uncle Naruto yell, and then her mother gives a snarl of effort.

The portal snaps shut behind Sarada just as she clears the threshold, slicing neatly through the heel of her sandal. She is dizzy and has the confusing sense of falling into a heap of bodies—Boruto is shouting her name, Mitsuki's arms retract—and then suddenly Aunt Hinata calls out, "It's coming!"

Sarada becomes aware of a growing roar, and a suffocating wave of energy moving forward.

Before she can regain her wits, someone—Konohamaru—grabs a hold of her. The past versions of Team 7 are urging their future selves to their feet, Kakashi ushers Boruto and Mitsuki back, and Papa is opening another portal just behind them. A vast sea of sand appears beyond the barrier, and he snaps, "Everyone, go!"

Genin and jōnin, past and present, make a beeline for the opening. Carried carefully by her instructor, she stares in wide-eyed horror over his shoulder as an explosion of golden chakra barrels toward them.

Only in the instant just before it hits them does the portal snap closed.

Silence hangs over them, feeling abrupt and uncomfortable in the wake of the roaring noise, like a thread suddenly snapped off in the middle. It lingers for several moments, like a breath being held in at the highest point of its inhalation.

Sands swirls around them, an endless desert stretching out upon every horizon.

Then the reality of things sets in.

"Phew!" Uncle Naruto exhales, falling to one knee.

Papa staggers backward, looking like he's about to pass out, but Mama catches hold of him, her arm scooped around his shoulders. Both of them have blood on their faces, she notices with concern, but despite radiating exhaustion, there's an instant of that nameless _something_ passing through them.

Warmth floods through her.

 _They're okay. Everyone's okay._

On the heels of that relief, awareness of her body returns to her. Along with the searing pain in her abdomen. She coughs then, blood slipping over her lips, and the world tilts to on side.

"Sarada!" Konohamaru sets her down on the ground. Instantly Mama is by her side, a little slower than normal, a little paler; Papa also tries to stagger toward her, but his legs give out beneath him. Boruto and Mitsuki try approach, but Kakashi and Aunt Hinata hold them and her parents past squad back.

A warm hand rests on Sarada's front, and the tingling sensation of her mother's healing chakra radiates through her. Mama is straining more than usual, as if eking out every last shred of healing chakra. Sarada can barely see the diamond-shaped marking on her forehead anhymore.

"Mama…don't worry about me…" she mumbles nonsensically, but her mother just mutter something under her breath as she carefully removes the kunai.

"You've lost a lot of blood, and your chakra is completely tapped out," she tells her in a quiet, soothing voice. "But you'll be alright." She looks up at Papa. "She'll be alright."

Loud cheering breaks out then; squinting beyond her mother's body, Sarada watches Boruto and the young Naruto high-five each other.

"She did it! _We_ did it!"

They clap each other on the back, and young Sakura squeals with glee and hugs young Sasuke around the neck, while he gasps for breath. He doesn't push her away though, Sarada notices. Aunt Hinata hurries over to Uncle Naruto, and he kisses her in front of everyone, earning a raised eyebrow from Kakashi and an embarrassed chuckle from Konohamaru.

Then Sarada, the once mortal wound in her belly, still tender but mostly healed, is pulled up and into Mama's arms. Relieved and exhausted, tears gathering in her eyes, and Sarada presses her face into her mother's soft curves. Papa finally manages to get to them and falls into a sitting position beside them, breathing hard. His eyes remain rivetted on Sarada, however, like he's evaluating every bruise and scratch that hasn't yet been healed.

"Your arm," he says, a statement and a question.

She shrugs her left shoulder, barely feeling that movement anywhere below her elbow. She knows she won't get anymore use out of it until Mama has the strength back to fix it. "Now we match."

His mouth quirks a bit upward at that.

"—did it! We did it! We did i—wait," Boruto cuts off, and then frowns. "We _did_ do it, right? We won't stop existing when we portal back to our own times?"

"Will we even be _able_ to get back to our times?" young Naruto wants to know, looking suddenly worried.

"Well, there's one way to check," Kakashi says.

He bites into his thumb, pulling out a scroll with the other, and pressing it to the ground. " _Kuchioyse no jutsu!"_

There's an explosion of dust, and when it clears, Pakkun the Ninja Hound sits in front of them.

He squints up at Kakashi. "Well, boss, this looks…um…slightly better than where you were before." His eyes linger on the barren wasteland. "Not much better, though."

"Of course!" Sakura cries. "They're linked in _our_ present! So, Pakkun should be able to get us back to our time, which means it's still there!"

"And once he gets his second wind, Sasuke can bring us back to where we belong," Uncle Naruto says as he and Aunt Hinata stand up. Boruto has thrown himself at his mother, wrapping an arm around her waist, and then moving aside so that she can offer Mitsuki a hug as well. Uncle Naruto puts a hand on either boy's head.

"Honestly, Sarada, how many times am I going to have to fix your arms today," Mama scolds lightly, but there's no real annoyance in it.

"Hopefully no more," she replies gamely, and grins up at her teammates. "Mitsuki…you saved me."

"Well, you and Boruto and Konohamaru-sensei had an eventful day," he replies mildly. "I felt it was my turn."

"Don't act like it's nothing!" Boruto guffaws.

"And here I thought it was only _Boruto_ you would risk your life for," Sarada teases, survival and adrenaline making her giddy.

"Well, you are one of my teammates."

"Such a fine display of comradery," Konohamaru murmurs, eyes teary and a fist clenched. "It makes your sensei _proud_."

"What happened before we found you?" Papa wants to know, and it's obvious he's asking about Teisōko, and whether she's still wandering around somewhere in the past.

Everyone, including the dog, is watching her now with expectation.

With the adults recovering themselves, there's not much else to do but tell them. Slowly, and pausing every now and then to allow for outraged exclamations or questions, she explains about following Teisōko through different time periods, and their long battle. All the while, the adults fan out amongst one another, checking wounds and healing one another—or at least trying to.

Mama appears to be tapped out after whatever she did earlier, and fixing Sarada as well as she could, but between Aunt Hinata and Uncle Kakashi's basic healing abilities, they help stabilize her. Colour returns to her face, but the Byakugo doesn't, and Sarada thinks Mama might be a little weak for the next few days.

Sarada finally ends her story with her last desperate vault towards Teisōko, before trailing off. Her mind feels like it's _garbled_ somehow, a snarl in a thread.

"That's the last thing I remember," she says, frowning. She has the distinct feeling that time passed between her last attack on Teisoko and being rescued from her fall off the cliff but can't call it up despite every effort.

Mama squints at her. "Well, you definitely have a concussion. That could explain you blacking out for a bit. It will be a while before I can check for sure, but we should be safe if we treat it as that."

"You must have done something badass," Boruto says, punching his fist in the air. "You came back, but that Teisōko chick didn't."

"That might not be a good thing," Mitsuki points out. "If she's somewhere in the past, she could still cause damage."

"No, she's dead," Sarada says, earning surprised looks. "I don't…I don't remember how, but I'm sure she is."

"I bet you took her out, huh?" young Naruto says. "You gave her the old one-two, right?"

He mimes boxing motions, and Boruto shoots him a disparaging look. "You're so lame."

"Is it possible she's been placed under a genjutsu?" Sakura wants to know, inching a little closer to the Uchiha family.

Papa gets up, shaking his head at Mama when she makes a motion to help him, and studies Sarada. "If there is, it's not one that I can sense. Most likely my wife is right—it's a concussion."

Sakura gasps a little, gazing up at Papa with shining eyes.

"Did you hear that?" she whispers to Sasuke, whose face has gone furiously red. "He said 'my wife'."

" _Tch_."

"Speaking of genjutsu, though," Papa says, eyes focussing on the two genin in front of him, showing no sign of having noticed the interaction, "if it _wasn't_ , it means someone else might have gotten involved in matters."

He takes a few steps toward the past version of him and his wife, until he is gazing down at Sakura. Sasuke glares at his adult self, and Sarada gets the distinct impression he doesn't like his future self. Papa either doesn't notice the look, or doesn't care, because his attention is on Sakura.

"When I was trapped in the time barrier, I saw how Jikken was defeated. That was no ordinary crow. There was no time to speak of it before, but…there is something I need to know."

Sakura's eyes widen at being addressed so seriously by any version of Sasuke, and then when he kneels down in front of her so that they are at eye-level, her face goes as red as her tunic and her eyes flick away from his.

"I…I…"

"If you'll allow it," he adds. "Please."

At which point, Sakura promptly faints.

As her teammates hurry to catch her before she hits the ground, Mama sighs. "Darling, it's really not fair of you to do that..."

Papa has the decency to look confused.

つづく

* * *

 _Yeah, I totally pulled a Kishimoto and brought in the Mysterious Other Worldly Figure Meeting. That happened. And yet another Uchiha is undone by their impulsive, ask-no-questions personality...arrogance has a cost :P_

 _And for those of you freaking out that the scene cut off just before Sarada made her choice...that's done on purpose. The two choices she is given lead to two story branches, the canonverse (Path of Thorns) which will follow the Boruto: Next Generations canon, and my headcanon verse (Path of Needles). I might write an introduction to both of those where you actually get to see the choice, but for this fic, I left it ambiguous so the reader could decide which path she chose._

 _(Full list/chronology of both series will be updated on my profile page, as I'm in the process of making sure all the stories that should be there_ are _there.)_

 _Yosh! One more chapter and an epilogue!_

栗


	38. Chapter Thirty-Three

**Author's Note:** I've decided to update this early and because I'm really excited about this chapter and I have no impulse control. Prepare for feels!

As usual, unedited until I get to it

* * *

Sakura isn't sure how long she is unconscious, but when she comes to, Kakashi is leaning over her, while her teammates watch her with a mixture of amusement and resignation.

"After everything you went through today, _this_ is what makes you faint?" her instructor asks her lightly, and helps her to her feet.

She is blushing furiously, and trying not to meet anyone's gaze. Except, she can feel Future Sasuke's gaze on her, a piercing thing that makes goosebumps rise on the backs of her arms, but also comforting somehow.

 _I wonder how he does that…_

Beside her, _her_ Sasuke radiates irritation, and she has the rather ridiculous notion that he would like to put himself between her and his adult self.

"Sakura," Sasuke's future self says, a question in his voice, and Sakura remembers that he was asking her something. She snaps her eyes up toward him, forcing herself to pay attention.

 _He said there's something he wants to check?_ Sakura remembers. _He means with the Sharingan, doesn't he?_

She's not entirely sure how she feels about that, but the earnest expression on his face, different from the usual blank one, causes her to nod wordlessly.

Future Sasuke nods in thanks. "Look into my eyes. This won't hurt."

Hesitantly, she raises her eyes to meet his. Immediately, she is lost in the deep black depths of his eyes. There's something in their colouring, and she wonders if it's the glare of the sunlight, but are they a shade lighter than she's used to her Sasuke having?"

"Your eyes are different," she tells him quietly.

"Yes. It's an evolved form of the Sharingan."

"Now, that's not it. They're…well, they're not as angry as my Sasuke's," she tells him as his irises turn red. "They remind me…of your brother's."

The last thing she hears in the real world is the shocked inhalation of breath beside her, and then she is somewhere else entirely.

The world around her is black and white, like the negative image of a developing photograph. The only bit of colour she can see are Sasuke's eyes as he gazes down at her, before his attention is drawn by something else. Something black falls in front of her—a lot of somethings, she realises, and reaches out to catch one.

 _A feather?_

She looks beyond it then and gasps as she suddenly finds that someone is standing behind Sasuke. A familiar someone in a long black coat with red clouds.

"Sa…Sasuke! Watch out!" she cries, pointing behind him.

She expects him to whirl around and lash out, the way he did when he first rescued her. Or the way she knows her Sasuke would react to the sight of his brother. But the movement is languid, as if he is reluctant to turn but knows he must.

She is hit then with a memory of surprising clarity.

 _The world bleeds red and black, and she is standing alone before Itachi Uchiha._

 _"Sarada?!" she cries, looking for the girl._

 _"You will not find her here," he tells her coolly. "She has other matters to concern herself with."_

 _Sakura's mind rebels at this, her inner self battling to come to the surface but coming up against a wall, and with great difficulty, she raises her fingers to her chest, trying to perform a hand sign._

 _"You will not be able to dispel this genjutsu," Itachi says, "although you are making an admirable effort." Is she? She can't tell. This world of black and red is suffocating, and she can barely keep focussed on the image of the man before her. "I detect a remarkably strong second will within you."_

 _A will that is trapped beyond her reach by this terrifyingly bleak world._

 _"Why do you care so much for my brother?" Itachi asks without segue, in his deceptively mild voice. "Is it some girlhood fancy?"_

 _All around them, images from her past surround them—_

 _Her and Ino fighting to sit next to Sasuke in class. Sakura offering him a box of chocolates while he walks by. Sakura cheering Sasuke on with all the girls in their group as he and Naruto fight._

 _"No…there's something else here…"_

 _Sakura grits her teeth, unable to break herself out of the onslaught of memories that overwhelm her again. Tears pour down her cheeks as she relives all of those moments, the embarrassing, the frightening, the painful._

 _She can't break away from his gaze._

 _The images replaying around them are different now. Sakura stands in front of Sasuke, holding a dagger with shaky hands as he and Naruto lie unconscious behind her. Sakura skidding across a splintering floor to stop an immobile Sasuke from injuring himself on landing. Sasuke curled in a fetal position, Sakura throwing herself in front of him even as a half-transformed Gaara throws a giant fist of sand her way. Diving off of a cliff to save an unconscious Sasuke from drowning in the sea—_

 _"I see," Itachi says, and the images fade._

 _Sakura gasps as she is released, and slumps forward a little. Itachi peers at her more closely now, with speculation._

 _"You would do anything to protect him."_

 _"Yes," Sakura bites out without hesitation, louder because she wants to ensure she can speak under her own power._

 _"You would give your life for his."_

 _"Yes!"_

 _He nods, thoughtful._

 _"I cannot personally interfere in the course of events you have found yourself in. There is too much at stake to chance it," he tells her. "But I can lend you something to help protect Sasuke. Should you find yourself in a position where all hope is lost."_

 _"What?" Sakura gasps. "You want to…help him? But I…I don't understand."_

 _"And I don't have the time to explain it to you," he replies. "I'm expending enough energy as it is carrying on a similar conversation with the other girl. Your daughter."_

 _Sakura clenches her fists. "If you hurt her—"_

 _"I have no interest in harming either of you," Itachi dismisses, and raises his arm. There is a flurry of black feathers, and a giant crow appears, settling on his arm. One of its eyes gleams with a—_

 _"Sharingan!" Sakura gasps._

 _"Yes," Itachi says. "This crow has a specific role to play. A means of saving Sasuke from the darkness consuming him. You know of what I speak."_

 _Images of Sasuke losing control, of the curse mark covering his body, his eyes becoming more and more hostile every day—_

 _"I cannot risk it using its ultimate ability beyond erasing my memory of these events—"_

Wait, what?

 _"—but it will be helpful to you if you have no other choice, and if Sarada fails."_

 _"But I thought you said…you couldn't interfere!"_

 _"_ I _can't," he tells her patiently. "My summon is a different matter. It will have enough chakra to help you if you find yourself facing certain and imminent death with zero probability of survival. Then it will return to me."_

 _"Because it's linked to your time," Sakura realises, her thoughts a convoluted mess of panic and anxiety as she tries to understand why_ Itachi Uchiha _wants her to save his brother._

 _"You have a keen mind," he tells her, approving._

 _Before she has time to process the fact the most infamous shinobi in Konoha just complimented her, the crow takes off, making a beeline for her._

 _Sakura cries out, taking a step back, but can't stop the creature from barrelling into her. Pain explodes in her chest, like the thing is burrowing through her sternum and ribs, and then it's abruptly gone again without even an aftershock._

 _Breathless, she stares up at Itachi in confusion._

 _"Why?" she whispers._

 _"I have confidence that all will be revealed in proper time," he dismisses. "Perhaps I will even be able to tell him…"_

 _He trails off, and the blank façade flickers for an instant._

 _"Tell him what?" Sakura whispers._

 _Itachi shakes his head. "That is not for my future sister-in-law to hear first. As it is, our time runs short."_

 _"Wait, you can't just…say something like that, and just—!"_

 _Itachi's Sharingan wheels within his eyes, and words vanish from her mind._

 _"You will not remember this. When the genjutsu dispels, you will only have memory of fighting against your worst fears," he tells her. "When you wake up, you will get yourself and Sarada as far away from me as possible. Your lives and the entire timeline is dependant on that."_

 _Sakura finds herself nodding._

 _Itachi gives her one last piercing look—like a craftsman evaluating his newly made tool for imperfections—and then nods. Striding forward, he reaches out to her._

 _"I hope next time…we meet under better circumstances…"_

 _Two fingers tap against her forehead and the world shifts._

Sakura gasps as the memory releases her, and suddenly she is back to standing behind Sasuke's future self. He is tense, like he's seeing a ghost or living a nightmare, and she expects him to lash out. Meanwhile, Itachi is gazing at them both, looking startled, like he didn't expect to see them.

His eyes snap to Sasuke's, and for a time there is a heaviness in this strange realm of memory and thought. The two men, so alike and so different, size each other up.

Then, to her shock, he smiles.

"You're taller than me," he tells Sasuke.

And then—she nearly has a heart-attack here—Sasuke smiles back.

"Maybe you're just short," he suggests.

 _Are they…are they_ joking _with each other?_ Sakura wonders, and this is _not_ the reaction Sasuke would have for his brother, past or future.

"I did not think you would find this imprint," Itachi confesses, smile fading.

"You always plan several steps ahead," Sasuke replies, equally serious. "If you felt there was a need to place a safeguard within Sakura, it stands to reason you could foresee an instance where I might have to investigate how such a thing occurred."

"I hoped Sarada would succeed in finding you, and that this wouldn't be necessary," Itachi says, and glances at Sakura. "She lives?"

"Y-yes," Sakura stammers.

"It relieves me to hear it. When I saw you both here, I assumed the worst.

"How _are_ you here?" she wants to know.

"When I placed the crow within you, I also placed this imprint of myself. It's similar to a shadow clone. Once it dispels, it will return to me, just like the crow did. It will bring with it all memory of this meeting," Itachi explains. "I have created a seal on it to release only at the moment of my death." Sasuke's fist clenches. "This way, I cannot impact the timeline more than I already have. And…"

He trails off, looking guiltily at Sasuke, which this flies in the face of everything Sakura knows about Itachi Uchiha.

 _What the hell_ happens _between my time and Future Sasuke's?!_

"Perhaps it is a selfish hope, but I hoped my final thought could be of the bright future you have built for yourself," Itachi continues.

"It's not selfish," Sasuke says quietly, and though his face remains composed, there's anguish in his eyes.

Itachi sees it too, because his eyes soften; guilt morphs into shame.

"I'm sorry," he says, the words almost a whisper. "For everything."

Sasuke is quiet for a spell, and then takes a step forward, then another. Sakura's hands clasp to her heart, wondering if _this_ is what causes Sasuke's odd calm in the face of his clan's murderer to break.

But instead, he places his arm on his brother's shoulder.

"I know," he tells him, quietly. "You were in a position where every choice led to bloodshed. Nothing will ever make what you did right—" Pain flashes across his Itachi's face, "—but I understand your reasons."

Itachi swallows.

"I see," he says at last, like he's not sure what else to say.

"When I was younger—" Sasuke's eyes flit to Sakura, and she knows he's talking about _her_ Sasuke, "—I wouldn't have been able to. I couldn't. But I know the coming years are going to be difficult. There are things you have to do and plans you have to put in place. If you don't, there is no future for our family." Itachi inhales sharply at those two words. "Or anyone else's."

And all of this is going over Sakura's head even as she tries to parse the meaning behind the two men's conversation, but Itachi seems to understand what is being said.

"I thought so," he remarks, resigned. Then he turns away, spine straightening, as if he is preparing for an unpleasant task. "Time is short. The chakra I placed in the seal will run out soon. Sasuke—"

"This time I intend to have the last word," Sasuke interrupts him, earning a surprised look. "I never had the chance to say this before you were…gone." His arm moves from Itachi's shoulder to rest upon his head, and then he leans forward, pressing their foreheads together. "No matter what you do from now on, at the end of the all…I will love you forever."

When he pulls away and straightens up, Sakura watches in awe as a single tear traces a path down Itachi's cheek. Her own eyes begin to well and her throat aches, because she might not know what's going on, but it's clear what's just happened.

Itachi's soft smile from earlier appears. Whether he is overcome by the gravity of the moment, or if he is respecting Sasuke's wishes for the last word, he doesn't speak as he backs away from them.

He glances at Sakura, nodding at her in gratitude or approval or something she can't decipher, and then back to Sasuke in wordless communication. A beat later, his form vanishes in a swirl of feathers.

Sasuke stands for a moment staring at the spot where his brother's image resided, and then slowly turns to face Sakura directly. In that same instant, she finds herself back in the real world, desert stretching out on either side and wind brushing sand against her cheeks.

Their eyes remain locked for another long second, and then he suddenly leans forward, hugging her to him.

"Sakura…thank you."

And now she does begin to cry. There's no other option but to hug him back.

ナルト

Sasuke stares at the two figures before him, his mind an utter blank since Sakura uttered those fateful words.

 _"They remind me…of your brother's."_

It's not possible. Sakura has never met his brother, how would she know—?

His adult self is maintaining eye-contact with Sakura, and Sasuke knows that something is going on right in front of him, something he has been purposefully left out of, and he doesn't know why.

 _It has to do with Itachi…why is_ Sakura… _!_

He takes a step forward, his only thought to somehow interrupt what's happening, to demand his future self explain what's going on. Before he can take another, a hand catches his wrist.

"Sasuke."

Sakura's future self is behind him, gazing down at him with soft eyes. In his anger, he thinks for a moment that it's pity, until he sees actual sadness on her face. He doesn't care.

"Let me go," he orders.

"I can't," she says quietly. "I can't let you hurt yourself."

"Hurt myself?! I won't—!"

"There is only so much new information that a human brain can process in a short time," Future Sakura tells him quietly. "For minds that are still developing—especially minds that are as tied to their emotions and abilities as yours are—that capacity is lessened. I would say I don't know how you're still standing right now, except I know _you_. You have a staying power beyond your years." She her mouth momentarily quirks, almost fondly, before the expression vanishes and she stares down at him with serious eyes. "But I won't let you risk working yourself into a seizure over information you are going to have to forget in a moment."

This Sakura, this woman in front of him is calm and logical, showing no trace of the begging or crying he has come to associate with her younger self. There is a gleam in her eyes and a set to her mouth that almost dares her to challenge him on it, and he's seen that before, hasn't he?

"I don't care about that," Sasuke tells her, using all of his effort to keep his voice level. "If you know me, you know what finding Itachi means to me. You know that I will sacrifice _anything_ , even my own soul, if I have to—!"

"I know that," she interrupts him, and he startles, because Sakura never interrupts him when he speaks. "No one knows that more than I do. And that time, it's closer than you think. But it's not now. And you may be willing to sacrifice even your own happiness for a fleeting moment of knowledge…but are you willing to sacrifice hers?"

Sasuke blinks at this, following Future Sakura's gaze as she tilts her head just beside him.

A few feet away, Sarada stands with her good hand clenched in a fist against her chest, her eyes reflecting confusion at his anger. Then, she takes a step forward.

"I don't…" she begins, barely above a whisper, and then she squares her shoulders. "I can't understand what you're feeling right now…and I don't know the full truth of things…but please…I don't want the last memory I have you like this being angry and in pain."

"Especially since there's enough of that in the future," the adult Sakura says. "Sasuke…will you…just take this moment?"

His entire body is tense, muscles ready to spring, teeth gritted, and his eyes flit back to where his future self and Sakura still stand frozen in front of one another. His chance…

Suddenly, Sarada is in his line of vision, and with a look of determination, she moves forward. He wonders if she's going to punch him again, but instead he feels her arm loop around his neck and she hugs him close to her, burying her face into his left shoulder.

 _What…?_

It has none of the force he's seen her wield today, none of the crushing strength his Sakura inadvertently expends on him from time to time. There's a gentle, tentative quality of the gesture.

He stares, straight ahead, unmoving and thought racing too fast to capture.

And then, from behind, another pair of arms encircle him, and the Future Sakura's chin settles on his right shoulder. He goes tense, not sure what to do.

"You have a family," Future Sakura tells him, and the total assurance in her voice washes over him. There is no doubt or hesitation, just a plain fact.

 _Maybe…maybe this one time…_

His body relaxes, and quite without his permission, his arm curls upward to wrap around Sarada's back.

 _…I can be weak…_

His eyes soften just a moment, and he surrenders to the embrace of his future.

Several feet away, his future self stirs, and leans in to hug Sakura, and Sasuke thinks maybe, just this once, he can understand why.

ナルト

"Uchihas are such drama queens," Boruto complains to Mitsuki, who simply grins at him in his usual way. "I always thought it was Aunt Sakura that Sarada got it from, but maybe not."

"You have no understanding of irony, do you?" Konohamaru remarks with only a little sarcasm.

"I don't see irony here," Naruto grumbles. "All I see is Sasuke getting all the attention, _as usual_."

"That isn't true, Naruto," a voice says in his ear, and he turns slightly to find Hinata bending toward him, an amused smile on her face. Before he's entirely aware of it, she leans in and kisses him on the cheek.

It's the first time anyone has voluntarily kissed him, and it's not something he would ever have expected from Hinata. Or, well, _his_ Hinata. The blood rushes to his cheeks, and he thinks he loses function in his tongue for a while.

"What about me?" Future Naruto grumbles.

"What about you, stupid old man?" Boruto demands, and he and his father begin to glare at each other. And then the Future Naruto musses up Boruto's hair, and Boruto hugs him around the middle.

Kakashi and Konohamaru exchange glances.

"As heartwarming as all this is," Pakkun interrupts in a grumpy voice. "We should start planning our exit."

"Yes," Future Sasuke says, standing up and facing them all. Any trace of softness on his face is gone, once more arranged behind a carefully blank façade. "We need to coordinate our efforts."

Future Sakura and Sarada release Sasuke, who looks like he doesn't know what he's supposed to do now, and Naruto can relate because his cheek is still buzzing from Hinata's kiss. Sakura, expression dazed, gazes up at him in undisguised adoration.

 _Geez, even when he's old she's crazy about him. How is that fair?_

Sasuke's future self frowns at the younger Sasuke, as if he wants to say something to him, but then makes a minute shake of his head. Instead, he goes to crouch down in front of Pakkun, who begins to talk about something to do with dimensions and probabilities. Naruto is amused to see the grave way in which the man nods and replies.

"They have to collaborate to create a larger portal, considering how many of us that have to go through," the Future Naruto explains to him. "And Sasuke will need to open is for longer so that he can erase your memories before it closes."

"I know that," Naruto replies, crossing his arms at the somewhat patronizing, _teacherish_ tone his adult self is using. "I saw with Orochimaru, you know."

"In the meantime, I'll send one of my other ninken along to Tsunade," Kakashi says to Future Naruto. "If we're all to forget this, she has to recall all the other shinobi in the area."

"She's not going to do that without explanation why," Future Naruto says.

"That's why I'll give her the _Roran_ code."

"Ah. Right." Future Naruto musses the hair on the back of his head. "I forgot about that one."

"That one _what_?" Naruto demands. "What's the _Roran_ code?"

"It's a part of a confidentiality system only the Hokage and ANBU learn. When one of my hounds gives her the code-word, she'll understand and treat the whole affair as S-rank. She will know that our team is under a memory seal and won't bring it up again."

Naruto brings. "Huh. You mean, you have a secret code about time travel?"

"They didn't used to. But your father had an interesting mission once…"

Future Naruto chuckles nervously. "Speaking of things I forgot…"

Naruto gapes. "Wait…you mean…wait, _my father_ is going to travel in time? Am I going to get to meet him?"

He remembers Sakura's words in the dank underground tunnels.

 _It might be, in the future, that you travel in time—or your dad travels in time—and you get to meet._

He hadn't really thought she was right before, but now…the possibilities overwhelm his thoughts.

 _Enough of this!_ the demon within him snarls out impatiently. _I've waited long enough!_

And before Naruto can react, he is in his own head, standing in the dank recesses of his mind, the fox straining against the bars of the giant cage. They aren't alone, however.

Naruto's adult self stands in front of him, along with a very large, very _free_ Nine Tailed Fox beside him.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?!" Naruto yelps. "You let it _out_?"

His Future self doesn't reply, gazing past him and into the cage. Then he sighs. "I had forgotten about this. We've been a team for almost longer than we haven't."

 _What drivel are you spouting?!_ the caged fox demands. _What did you do to bind me, into no more than a tame_ pet _._

 _'Tame pet' my_ ass _,_ the Nine Tails beside the adult Naruto snorts. _I do what I want._

 _I don't believe you!_

 _Don't start with that mouth. You ought to mind your elders._

 _Quisling! Traitor! You've given yourself over to your captor!_ the caged fox growls, the hackles on its neck raising and eyes rolling in fury.

 _I haven't given myself over to anything. Naruto and I are partners. It's a mutual respect thing, which you wouldn't understand as you are now._

 _Do not lecture_ me _on respect! I understand it well, and this_ whelp _has done nothing worthy of it!_ the demon fox hisses, the heat and stink of its breath surrounding Naruto.

"Hey!" he snaps, disgusted and a little bit offended.

 _Perhaps not yet, but it is as you say,_ the Nine Tails acknowledged. _He is still a whelp. He learns. And he is not like the others. Mito initially bound us to be used as a weapon. Kushina tried to allow us to fade into obscurity within her._

"Kushina?" Naruto repeats, the name one he has been hanging on to since Kakashi spoke it. "My mom? She was…she had the fox inside her, too?"

His future self nods solemnly, and Naruto is momentarily stunned by the revelation.

 _Naruto has never done such a thing, even in your time,_ the Nine Tails continues, speaking to his former self. _And in mine, he has even gone so far as to sacrifice himself so that we and the other Tailed Beasts could be free._

"What?! There's _more_ of you?!" Naruto demands. He sort knew already, considering his encounter with Gaara, but he thought the two of them were it.

 _That…can't be,_ the demon fox bites out. _You lie!_

 _Why would I lie? Why would I need to lie? I'm standing before you, without a cage, and without an Sharingan here to compel me. You would feel it if Sasuke Uchiha involved himself in any way. It is just us here._

The younger fox remains uneasy, still not knowing what to say or believe.

"Kurama," the Future Naruto says gravely, and the fox hisses in shock at, what Naruto realises, is his _name_. "I know it's hard to understand this, or even believe it. But I vowed I would not let any harm come to you or the other Tailed Beasts. In my time, you are all free to do as you like. But we cannot get to that point without your cooperation.

 _The caged fox narrow its eyes._

"We need to ensure your knowledge of today's events is erased, to ensure history proceeds as it was meant to. Something is coming, something that could destroy all the Tailed Beasts, and everything else. If you alter history with all that you've learned, I know you will end up nothing more than a sacrifice for someone else's search for power."

The Nine Tails beside him nods, frowning as if at a bad memory.

"So…" the Future Naruto trails off, and then to everyone's surprise, suddenly folds forward in a bow. "Please give us your permission to alter your memories."

There is a long, astonished silence in the chamber.

Naruto looks at the unchained Nine Tails, then at the man he will become in the future, and then at the fox in the cage. He really has no idea what is happening, but he knows it is important.

And so, he turns and bows to the fox himself.

"Please," he says, and then adds, "Kurama."

The silence in the chamber now is more considering than astonished, and Naruto mentally crosses his fingers hoping this will work.

At last, the caged fox growls. _Very well. But only because I fee like it. And I_ will _have my freedom one day._

He then turns and shows them his tails, a clear dismissal.

As the Narutos both straighten up, the older one shifts and smiles up at the Nine Tails. "I forgot how moody you used to be."

Kurama flips him the middle finger. _Yeah, well, you were a tool once, too._

They exchange a look, and then a beat later, Naruto finds himself and his Future Self standing alone in a vast, bright expanse. Crystal water laps gently at their feet.

"So…that's it?" he asks his future self.

"Yep. All we need now is for Sasuke to do his thing and everything's good again," Future-Naruto grins.

"Good?" Naruto repeats, unable to understand the sentiment. He glares. "Are you kidding me?! Just how old are you that you think things are _good_?! People hate me! And all for no other reason than because I have the de…because I have Kurama locked inside me! Which neither of us wanted, and all of that was because of…because of my…"

"Father?" Future Naruto prompts.

"How could you forgive him?!"

His future self thinks for a moment. "It's…not really something I can explain. I was a lot older when I learned the truth."

"That's a crap answer and you know it!"

"You're right." His future self is watching him with a frown on his face, like he's weighing a decision in his mind, and then nods to himself. He takes a step forward, his hand outstretched toward Naruto. "I think if I'm careful…I can _just_ …for a few seconds, at least…"

"What the heck are you doing?!" Naruto demands, but his adult self's palm has pressed against his abdomen. Heat spirals upward from somewhere behind his navel.

"It won't trigger a full release of the seal," his future self says, more to himself than to Naruto, which is just as well because it makes no sense. "But just enough to…"

His words trail off, and suddenly a figure coalesces beside them. There's that sound again, of cloth rippling in the wind, but it's louder now. The smell of ozone fills the air, and when Naruto looks up, he is lost in blue eyes that look exactly like his.

Minato Namikaze stands beside them, the long coat of the Hokage flowing behind him, even though there is no wind here.

"Naruto," he says, in a soft voice, and tilts his head to the adult version in a questioning manner.

Future Naruto waves. "Hey, Dad."

"You know about the seal."

"I do. You saved my life. Well…will save my life. Will save everyone," the future Naruto says. "But you're not here so I can tell you that."

"I know," the newcomer says, and gazes down at Naruto, whose throat feels close and whose heart feels like it's stuck in a vice.

 _This is…this is his…_

"You're…the Fourth Hokage," he manages, because the other word is still too hard to believe.

He has only ever seen the man's face carved into rock, and he thinks now that there is little likeness between the two. The Fourth Hokage's face is not stern or intense the way it is on Hokage Rock, but soft and whimsical. His features are a little sharper and more defined than Naruto's, but there is no arguing the resemblance between them. Especially looking at his adult self standing beside him.

He sees now why Kakashi was so taken aback by Jikken's features, which were twisted and perverted. He thinks if he had known what the Fourth Hokage looked like before, he would have recoiled, too.

"…Dad," he says, tentative, questioning, and he has never addressed anyone this way before. The word feels weighty on his tongue.

The man before him, this stranger that _isn't_ really, smiles then. "Yes."

And Naruto is trapped between so many urges right then, he doesn't know what to do. Eventually, he lets his body make the decision.

With a yell, he throws himself forward, and headbutts his father in the gut.

Minato Namikaze makes a startled noise and falls backward into the water surrounding them. Future Naruto winces, and says, "Right…should have seen that coming."

"Why the hell would you ever seal a demon inside your own son?!" Naruto yells, feeling rage twist up within him along with hurt and happiness and amazement.

Tears and snot run down Naruto's face as he watches the blond man— _his father—_ get to his feet. "I guess I deserve that. Naruto. I am sorry."

"You think that _sorry_ makes up for it?" Naruto bites out, but its more a sob than a sneer.

"I can only hope so."

It's not anymore of a sufficient answer than his future self gave him, but it occurs to Naruto there isn't enough time. He can spend the next seconds or minutes glaring at his father and crying, or he can listen to his future self. And so, he throws himself forward again—Minato looks as if he expects to be hit again—and wraps his arms around his father's middle, pressing his face into his chest. And even if this is all in his head, there's a protective warmth radiating from his father's body, and an overwhelming comfort.

"Dad…" Again, the word is heavy, but it's one of the most cherished ones to ever cross his lips. He eventually looks up, meeting his father's warm gaze.

"You look so much like your mother," he says, "especially with that face."

Naruto's heart beats faster. "Really?"

"Hm." His father places a hand on his head. "I am so proud of you. _Every_ you. I will see you again. And if I'm not mistaken—" he shares a meaningful look with Future Naruto, "—you will meet your mother, too."

Words fail here.

"Part of us is always with you," his father continues, and as Naruto draws away from him, he rests his hand on his heart. "Deep within."

"That's all the time we have," Future Naruto says. "Any longer, and you won't have enough chakra left for its original purpose."

"Of course, "their father nods and steps back from them. He smiles at them both in turn. "But I got to see my son as a young man, and all grown up." He begins to fade in front of them. "What parent…could ever ask for more?"

ナルト

Kakashi isn't entirely sure why Naruto suddenly begins to tear up, looking like he's in pain, but with a smile trembling on his lips. Shooting an inquiring look at Future Naruto, he gets a shrug in return.

"There was a much-needed meeting to be had," he tells him. "In any case, Kurama is on board. He'll submit to Sasuke's Mangekyō this once."

"That's good," Kakashi says. "I don't need to tell you the disaster it would be if he remembered all this." He sighs, looking upward. "Either way, I'm going to place the wards for a Memory Sealing Jutsu. I'll recognise my work, and if I think I've hidden my memories, I'll know better than to look into it too deeply." He addresses Future Sasuke. "That way I won't disturb whatever genjutsu you place on us."

"Hm," the other Sharingan user nods. He glances over at his younger self, and Kakashi thinks he notices his fist clench.

"Are you going to tell me to keep an eye on you?" he asks, only half-joking.

"It wouldn't do any good," Future Sasuke replies. "What is meant to happen, will happen."

"Right," Kakashi says, knowing it's the truth and hating that it is. The words jog his memory. "And Obito? Can you tell me how he…? Is he…?"

But his student from the future simply raises an eyebrow at the obvious question. Kakashi nods, knowing there's no point to wandering down that particular rabbit hole. As much as he wants to and as curious as he is…

He's probably better off not knowing.

 _A shinobi must always put the mission first._ He clenches a fist. _What utter crap…_

To cover his disappointment, he turns his attention to his summoning scroll and, pressing a bit of the blood from his already injured finger, he calls up one of his hounds.

"Shiba," he tells the tiny white-furred mutt, "take a message to Lady Tsunade."

"You got it, boss, what is it?"

"Just the one word," he says. " _Roran."_

"We're ready," Future Sasuke says, straightening up.

"Are you sure, Papa?" Sarada wants to know. "You used a lot of chakra just getting us _here_. Maybe we should wait a little longer."

"Just because we're in this dimension doesn't mean we can afford to relax. Every second we stay here, all of us outside our proper time, it reopens the wound in the timeline."

"Right…" Sarada muses, while her mother approaches Future Sasuke, stopping in front of him with a tilt of her head. They trade glances, and there's a minute nod from Future Sasuke that Kakashi only sees because of his Sharingan. Future Sakura's lips ease into a warm smile and she looks down, almost shy.

Kakashi expects he's about to see her hug or kiss him—that's how these adventures always end, right? The way they're looking at one another, he's seen that before in his own time.

 _Speaking of them…_

Sakura and Sasuke are staring up at their future selves with rapt expressions he has only ever seen on their faces when they are trying to get a peek beneath his mask. It's possible they've even forgotten to breathe.

So, when the two adults suddenly turn away from each other without any kind of gesture or word, Kakashi wants to laugh at the way they both suddenly deflate into confusion and unmet expectation.

 _Not that I'm not a_ little _disappointed to, but…_

Sarada _does_ laugh and comes over to hug her mother's past-self. "See what I mean?"

"That's…that's so not fair…" Sakura complains.

"What you mean, 'see what I mean?'" Sasuke asks, a bit of a sulk in his voice.

 _Sounds like he's going back to normal, too._

"Time to say your goodbyes, kids," Future Naruto announces. "Team 7—!" Everyone looks up at this, and he laughs. "Ah, right. Team _Kakashi_ , you need to put some distance between Team _Konohamaru_."

Boruto and the young Naruto bump fists, and Sarada hugs young Sakura one last time. Sasuke folds his arms, like he is trying to stay above it all, but Sakura snatches a hand out and grabs him by the collar, bringing him close to Sarada.

"Sakura—you're…choking me!"

Mitsuki observes all of this with a serene smile upon his face, as if all of this is as it should be in his mind.

"You have a good group of kids," Kakashi tells Konohamaru. "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

"Well, if Lord Sixth is telling me so, what else can I do but obey?" Konohamaru replies with a grin, that instantly reminds Kakashi of the gap-toothed runt that follows Naruto around in his time.

"Goodbye, Kakashi-sensei," Hinata says, leaning in to hug him. He feels his cheeks redden a little, embarrassed by the affection.

To cover it, he goes to stand beside his students, and once more finds himself surveying the two groups that face one another. Past and Future.

Kakashi smiles.

 _How can I put this?_

Naruto sticks his hand out, offering his future self a thumbs up; the adult returns it with a grin. The adult Sakura exchanges determined looks with her past self, as if silently bidding her to stay strong. Sasuke and his adult version frown at one another with mutual discomfort. Boruto and Sarada wave enthusiastically from behind their parents, while Hinata and Konohamaru observe with smiles on their faces.

 _I really…love you guys._

Pakkun trots out between the two groups, and with a look of concentration, opens a small pocket in the air above him. Future Sasuke's Rinnegan gleams, and the pocket widens until it is the size of a door. Beyond it, Kakashi can see the spot where his team first encountered the time bubble the day before.

"Go! Now!" Future Naruto orders, and with a few final glances in the direction of their futures, Kakashi's students leap through the window. He follows as well, once more feeling the odd sensation of being drenched and electrocuted at the same time.

Once back on the forest road, the four of them turn back toward the portal to the desert dimension, and face the Future Sasuke. Sweat beads upon his forehead, and he bites out, "Now, Kakashi."

Kakashi nods, crouching down and pressing a dagger to the ground. A warding circle appears around him and his students, creating the telltale traces of a Memory Seal.

"All of you, look into my eyes," he orders, and his Sharingan spins to life in front of them. "Once this portal closes, you will remember nothing. You will not try to find out what happened. You will continue on the paths that have been set for you."

A hazy lull falls over Kakashi, and he has to marvel at the strength of Sasuke's Sharingan. He doesn't think his own will ever reach that level…

"Goodbye, Lord Seventh," Mitsuki calls from behind them. "It was interesting to meet you at this age."

The last thing any of them hear before the portal snaps closed, is Naruto:

" _EEEEHHHH?!"_

 _つづく_

* * *

 _There! I think I managed to put in everything that people have been wanting to happen for the past two years. I hope it was worth the wait!_

 _Look for the Epilogue tomorrow!_

栗


	39. Epilogue

**Author's Note:** Here it is, guys? Are you ready?

* * *

When she wakes, a comfortable, protective warmth rests beside her, and someone's even breathing tickles the back of her neck. Sakura shivers in response and blinks, trying to force back the confusing tides of unconsciousness.

When she opens her eyes finally, Kakashi is bent over her, his eyes crinkled in amusement.

"Kakashi-sensei…?" Sakura wonders. "Did I faint again?"

Mortification fills her at the very thought.

"Well, if you did, you're not the only one," he tells her cheerfully, and Sakura doesn't understand the implication in his voice.

Until she pushes herself up and feels the hard-muscled thigh beneath her palm. Suddenly she is completely awake, and she turns around to see blazing black eyes glaring up at her. Her brain registers their position—legs tangled, Sakura lying on Sasuke's chest as he sprawls beneath her—and she squeaks in wordless shock.

"Hey, asshole, what are you doing to Sakura?" Naruto's voice breaks through the heavy silence, and the blond boy leans over to give Sasuke to the stink eye.

"Probably saving her from something," Sasuke mutters, beginning to pull himself away. To Sakura he grunts, "Get off of me."

She is quick to comply, still trying to recapture her train of thought, while also trying to commit to memory the sensation of being so close to Sasuke. It's hard to do, since all the blood in her body has rushed to her head and is adding to her dizziness from waking up.

Sasuke does not seem to share her fluster. "What happened to us? The last thing I remember is walking through that strange distortion."

"Me too," Kakashi replies gravely. He is staring at something beyond them, looking thoughtful. "The simplest explanation I can think of is that our walking through the distortion disrupted it and there was fallout. It would explain our unconsciousness."

 _And why everything hurts,_ Sakura thinks. Though she has no injuries on her body, everything feels sore, the same way it feels after she's finished a heavy weight-lifting workout.

She reflects on Kakashi's words, and frowns. "That doesn't make sense, though. There have to have been a lot of other people who went through the barrier, even just by accident. What's so special about us that we could stop it?"

Kakashi shrugs. "It might have something to do with the Sharingan. Sasuke and I both have one; perhaps it interacted with whatever the phenomena was and cancelled it out."

"I guess…" Sakura agrees, remembering that nothing happened when Naruto or his clone went through. "But what caused it in the first place?"

Kakashi does not respond and strides a few feet away, staring at the ground with a frown. He kneels down and presses two fingers to the ground. _"Kai!"_

Spindly, faded symbols radiate outward. She expects to see them form into a sealing circle, but instead only about a quarter of them appear; the rest look as if they were cut away with a curved blade.

"That looks like a Memory Erasing Seal," Sakura says, recognising several of the characters from her studies. "Do you think someone used it on us?"

"Not someone," Kakashi replied, straightening up. "Me. This is my work."

His students gawk up at him in shock.

"Are you kidding me?!" Naruto demands. "Why the heck would you that? Now we're standing around like idiots trying to figure out what happened."

"That's why I gave you the simple explanation," Kakashi replies, unbothered. "Come on, let's go home."

Sakura scoffs in disbelief. "What are you talking about?! You can't just say something like that and just…not explain!"

"I can if it's above your paygrade. Use of a Memory Erasing Seal means either the mission became S-Rank, or there's something we stumbled upon that was too dangerous for a bunch of genin to know. Or both."

"So, you erased your _own_ memories too?" Naruto snorts. "Talk about stupid."

"How are we supposed to make a complete report if we can't remember what happened?" Sasuke adds, irritated.

"The simple version," Kakashi repeats pointedly. "I'll mention the seal to the Hokage, but even if she chooses to have it investigated, it won't be by us. Our job is done here. Which is just as well, because I'm exhausted."

And he continues to walk away.

"Is he nuts?" Naruto mutters to Sakura and Sasuke. "We're just supposed to…leave it like that?"

"He's got a point. We've done our job," Sakura says with a tentative shrug. "And, I mean, I'm really tired too. I never would have guessed just looking around would be so exhausting! Don't you think so, Sasuke?"

He doesn't reply, staring at the spot where the memory seal was. "I want to know what the less simple version of the story was."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that," Naruto huffs and stretches, putting both arms behind his head. "When was the last time you got Kakashi-sensei to tell you something he didn't want to?"

The three of them exchange thoughtful looks, and then collectively sigh, hanging their heads.

 _We can't even get him to show us what's under his stupid mask, he's not about to tell us S-rank secrets,_ Sakura thinks dejectedly.

"So, on that note…" Naruto goes on, and then grins wickedly at his teammates. "I'm thinking _ramen."_

"You're always thinking about ramen," Sasuke grumbles.

"Oh, like you're not hungry!"

"I'm not."

Sasuke's stomach chooses that moment to grumble loud enough that they all hear it. Sasuke's face remains carefully blank, but Sakura is sure she sees his right eye twitch a little.

"Tell you what," she says, once again falling into the peacemaker role, " _I'll_ pay for dinner at Ichiraku, and we can figure out a way to get Kakashi-sensei to tell us more about Memory Erasure Seals. I bet if we put our heads together, we can figure out what they might be hiding, right Sasuke?"

She beams at him hopefully.

"Whatever," he sighs and starts walking after Kakashi.

"Hey, what about me?" Naruto demands as Sakura hurries after the Uchiha boy. "Hey, Sakura, you're buying me ramen too, right? Sakura? Aw, come on…"

ナルト

Sarada blinks in surprise at the spot where seconds before her parents' childhood stood. There was no after-image or slow fade; one moment they were standing there, and the next they weren't.

And a beat later, a portal opens behind her, and she is dimly aware of her mother guiding her through/

The five adults and three genin land on the paved road that leads to Konoha, and the portal to that strange desert dimension closes. Papa leans forward on his knees, breathing hard.

"Well," Boruto says, because of course he has to be the one to break the silence, "that was _weird_."

"I would say interesting," Mitsuki adds.

"You would…"

"Does this mean everything is back to the way it was supposed to be?" Aunt Hinata wonders, glancing at Papa in question.

"It seems to," he replies, glancing about with his Sharingan and Rinnegan active. "I see no overlap of dimensions any longer. And I can no longer remember that day, beyond what I witnessed myself today."

Sarada frowns to herself and rubs her forehead thoughtfully. She doesn't think it's quite that simple.

"Same here," Mama says. "All I remember is Kakashi making some explanation about a Memory Erasure Seal, and you guys making me pay for supper."

"Hey, we didn't _make_ you do anything!" Lord Seventh protests. "You offered!"

"No, I offered _Sasuke_ ," Mama replies primly. "You horned in on it, as always, and then ended up ordering like three bowls yourself!"

"So did Sasuke!"

"He paid me back for it."

"You did?" Lord Seventh asks, surprised, and glances at Papa.

"Don't you have something more important to talk about?" he asks pointedly. When Lord Seventh looks confused, Papa looks pointedly at Team Konohamaru. "Regarding your shinobi corps?"

"Oh!" Lord Seventh's eyes widen in realization, and he nods. He turns to the genin squad and draws himself, a solemn look on his face. "Konohamaru, is there anything you want to explain about your most recent mission?"

Konohamaru looks confused. "Er…nothing that you don't already know?"

"I see. So…no explanation as to why your squad flouted protocol to return to Konoha when you realized this mission was far above their level?"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Boruto yells. "We were all separated and stuck underground, how were we supposed to get back?"

"I believe he is referring to the point after which we were all reunited," Mitsuki pipes up reasonably. "Konoha shinobi protocol maintains we should have returned to the village, instead of staying behind with Konohamaru-sensei."

"You are _not_ helping right now!" Boruto hisses.

"In summary," Lord Seventh says, "you are all grounded."

"Definitely," Aunt Hinata agrees.

"No way!" Sarada and Boruto chorus, having not expected that.

"We were on a mission!" Boruto goes on. "You can't ground us for mission stuff!"

"Oh, you're not grounded for the mission," Lord Seventh says. "As shinobi, you did a great job and completed your mission beyond expectation, figuring out the cause of the disturbances."

"But?" Sarada challenges.

"But once your parents showed up, technically the mission was over," Konohamaru says quietly. "And they told you a bunch of times not to get involved, so…"

"Grounded," Sakura finishes with a nod.

"Technically, none of you are able to ground me," Mitsuki points out.

"I'm Hokage. I can do whatever I want." Lord Seventh folds his arms. "Besides, I have what's known as locomotive parenthesis—"

 _"In loco parentis,_ " Aunt Hinata corrects gently.

"Yeah, that! Which means, I can make decisions for your wellbeing instead of your parent if I have to, and I say, right now, you're grounded."

Mitsuki looks considering, as if this is a novelty he did not expect and doesn't know how he feels about it.

"Tough luck, kids," Konohamaru-sensei tells them with a rueful smile.

"Oh, you're grounded too," Sakura tells him crisply.

He stares. "I'm an adult. You can't ground me."

"Want to test that theory?" she asks, smiling with the scary kind of cheer Sarada recognises as a danger sign.

Konohamaru blanches, and Sarada thinks she hears him whisper under his breath, " _Scary_."

"Right. That's done," Lord Seventh says. "So I'm thinking— _ramen_."

They all begin to walk back toward the village.

Aunt Hinata laughs and Mama groans. "Seriously, Naruto?"

Papa shakes his head, and as he does it, Sarada can hear his younger self muttering, _"Moron."_

And she grins, then, because even if there are no photos of her father when he is younger, she's seen him with her Sharingan and he's forever imprinted in her memories. Disgruntled scowl and all.

And Mama, all flustered and silly, and Lord Seventh the loveable fool—and how much he and Boruto resemble each other—and Lord Sixth looking a little graver than normal but still the protective force she knows.

She thinks she gets it now. She gets them, or at least understands why even after so many years, and in some case, so much absence, they are still the unstoppable, legendary Team 7.

Sarada glances at Boruto and Mitsuki, who are teasing a dejected-looking Konohamaru, and she wonders if she's destined to continue that legacy.

For a brief instance, she imagines someone whispering to her.

 _You walk with gods, little one. Mind your step._

The moment is gone right away, skating away from the edges of her mind, like a distant dream. Instead, her attention is rivetted on her parents, who are turned and waiting for her, expectant. She thinks if they were alone, just the three of them, Mama might lean of Papa for support, but they're both so stubborn about that sort of thing.

They're so different, and yet, so completely the same.

Sarada laughs and runs to her parents, placing herself between them and grabbing hold of their hands.

"Mama, Papa," she tells them earnestly, with a conviction that has never felt truer in her life, "when you guys were young, you were _annoying_ …"

終わり

* * *

 _And that, my friends, is the end._

 _I tried to end it on a lighthearted, open note the way an anime episode or movie would end. Any questions that haven't been resolved yet, I'm probably planning to work into a future fic, so don't worry (Sarada's knowledge about Itachi and the Uchiha will be addressed in its own time, I didn't want to stick it in here because it would feel tacked on.)_

 _It has been an astounding two years and four months. When I started this fic, it was supposed to be three chapters long, at maximum five. It was supposed to be a humorous "what if" situation of past meeting future._

 _And instead, I ended up on as much of an adventure as you guys, in the writing! There was a time in the last year when I didn't think I would ever finish this. I didn't have the attention span or the ideas, and I felt like I had written myself into a corner. But through it all, no matter what other projects I worked on, there were people sending me messages about how much they enjoyed_ An Inch of Gold _and dearly hoped I would continue it. It's really thanks to you guys that I managed to do it._

 _This is the longest story I have every written and completed. It's far from perfect—I know there are mistakes along the way, and word choices that should be fixed and any number of things that need to be edited._

 _But I did it._

 _I said everything in it that I wanted to say or resolve, and it has been utter therapy for me, both in my life and in response to the travesty that has become the_ Naruto _universe lately._

 _I finished this damned behemoth of a story._

 _And that makes me think that one day, I'll have the drive and attention span to write my own original story that's just as well-received. I hope you guys are there to see it._

 _I may take a bit of a break from posting stuff for a little while. Finishing this really did drain me, but when I get the energy again I'll update the fic list and chronologies, and categorize which fics are in the_ Path of Needles _or_ Path of Thorns _series. And, of course, my many non-canon/non-headcanon series that need to be continued. And a whole host of new fic ideas that won't leave me alone!_

 _The future looks_ very _interesting ^_^_

 _All my love and gratitude,_

 _Kriss_


End file.
